Acute bed and ICU shortage at AIIMS Bhubaneswar pushes patients to brink

AIIMS Bhubaneswar is facing a severe shortage of beds and ICU facilities, causing immense hardship to patients and their families. The crisis has reached a point where critically ill patients are allegedly forced to wait for hours, sometimes overnight, on wheelchairs or stretchers due to the unavailability of beds.

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According to patients’ relatives, the limited number of ICU beds has worsened the situation. A man from Nuapada alleged that after his father suffered a brain stroke, they rushed to AIIMS Bhubaneswar but were unable to secure either an ICU or a general bed from last night until early next morning, leaving the critically ill patient seated in a wheelchair.

Every day, more than 5,000 patients from Odisha and neighbouring states seek treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. However, the hospital infrastructure has not expanded proportionately with the rising patient load.

Many patients are seen standing in long queues at OPDs, while others lie on stretchers for hours awaiting admission. Some patients and attendants are even forced to stay outside the hospital premises for days, sleeping on footpaths in harsh conditions.

The situation is further strained by a large influx of critical patients from neighbouring West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh, making AIIMS Bhubaneswar a preferred destination for advanced medical care.

Responding to the concerns, AIIMS authorities stated that bed capacity has been increased to around 1,400, including 105 ICU beds. They added that a proposal has been sent to the Central government for further expansion to meet growing healthcare demands.

“Although AIIMS Bhubaneswar was set up keeping in mind the regional patients, several critical patients from neighbouring states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh are coming to the health facility for advanced treatment,” the health facility Superintendent, Dr. Dilip Kumar Parida, said to OTV when contacted.