Facing flak, AIIMS Delhi withdraws letter on SOPs for parliamentarians
New Delhi, Oct 21: The AIIMS administration on Friday withdrew a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) it had issued that included providing a nodal officer to coordinate and facilitate treatment for MPs, a day after facing flak from a section of doctors.
In a recent letter to Y M Kandpal, joint secretary at the Lok Sabha Secretariat, AIIMS Director M Srinivas listed the SOPs for outpatient department (OPD), emergency consultation and in-patient hospitalisation of members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In his letter, Srinivas has said duty officers from the department of hospital administration will be available at the AIIMS control room round-the-clock to coordinate and facilitate arrangements.
The move drew sharp criticism from several associations of doctors who called out the "VIP culture" at the premier health institute.
On Friday, the hospital administration withdrew the letter.
"Letter dated October 17 on the 'medical arrangements for sitting Members of Parliament in AIIMS' may be treated as withdrawn with immediate effect," the latest letter signed by Chief Administrative Officer Deo Nath Sah wrote.
Soon after this, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) tweeted: "So, Special Privilege stands withdrawn. Proud of everyone who supported."
In another tweet, it said, "A voice of reason, rationale and resolve can make a big difference. We thank everyone for their support and stand against the VIP culture in healthcare. It's a shared success!"
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) said, "We always stand against #VIP culture! We will never compromise with our stand! ... Director had to withdrawn letter of Special treatment for #MPs (sic)!"
The FORDA had on Thursday questioned the SOP, highlighting that the special privilege to MPs might come at the cost of ordinary patients.
The AIIMS director had in his letter said MP's staff could call up the officer on duty.
The officer, also a qualified medical professional, would in turn speak to the specialist or super-specialist doctor or the head of the department concerned to fix an appointment, it had mentioned.
In case of any emergency, the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha secretariats or the MP's staff could contact the duty officer, who would guide them to emergency services, the now-withdrawn letter had said.
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) had also tweeted and shared a letter sent to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, appealing to him to take cognisance of the issue.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
