Five more AIISH-like institutes planned, says Harsh Vardhan

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to establish five more institutes in the country modelled after Mysore’s All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH).

Addressing the gathering after dedicating various facilities at AIISH here on Friday, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan said in the next five years, it was intended to establish one more institute in southern part of the country, followed by institutes in the northeast, west and other parts.

Vardhan asked the Director of AIISH S R Savithri to develop the programme for the proposed institutes in the next two months. He also promised to come to the aid of the Institute that was looking for land to expand its activities, by setting up its units at Agartala in Tripura and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

Taking cognisance of AIISH’s tie up with 11 medical colleges in the country to offer its services to the dedicated stream of patients, Vardhan asked the authorities concerned to widen its service area to 400 more medical colleges in the country. He also directed the authorities to make effective use of tele-medicine facility to reach out to the particular section of society.

Antenatal cases

Like maternal mortality rate, increasing antenatal cases were also a matter of concern, thanks to the doctors who prescribe drugs to women at the time of pregnancy, said Harsh Vardhan.

Harsh Vardhan himself an ENT surgeon, said, various factors affect a woman at the time of pregnancy leading to antenatal cases. “Doctors are also responsible for prescribing drugs to women during pregnancy that may affect the children for the rest of their lives.”Revenue Minister V Sreenivas Prasad, also the district in-charge minister promised to grant more land as requested by the Institute. 

State Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader said his department was committed to making Karnataka “deafness-free.” 

For this, the department has sought a special grant from the Centre to introduce the system to screen hearing disorders among newborns at every taluk and district-level hospitals, he said.

Khader exhorted AIISH to focus on the people with speech and hearing disorders in remote areas too, as it was not possible for them to reach the institute on their own.

University status sought

AIISH Director S R Savithri disclosed that the Institute has sought deemed university status from University Grants Commission (UGC).

She urged the Union Health Ministry to help get the tag, besides releasing a grant of Rs 115 crore, including the planned expenditure of Rs 102 crore.