The Union Government’s refusal to sanction the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala is disappointing. However, the fact that many newly established AIIMS across the country are facing shortage of human resources and inadequate infrastructure is certainly a food for thought, says B. Ekbal, a public health activist.
The state’s public health system is currently facing a major challenge of increasing disease burden, while the private health sector is being taken over by foreign private equity companies, increasing the cost of health care for people. In this context, the establishment of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Kerala is certainly a welcome prospect for the state’s health sector.
However, not all AIIMS across the country are doing well. Dr. Ekbal says that of the total 26 AIIMS approved by the Centre, many are facing serious crises. Only about 18-19 institutes, including AIIMS Delhi and first-phase facilities like Bhopal and Bhubaneswar, can be said to be performing relatively well, he points out.
In newer institutes
In the newer AIIMS set up in Rajkot and Guwahati, services are largely limited to outpatient departments and academic classrooms; surgical departments and inpatient care (IPD) are not yet fully functional. In places like Darbhanga (Bihar) and Awantipora (Kashmir), construction has barely progressed.
Dr. Ekbal says the main problem facing these new institutions is the acute shortage of doctors. Even in the established centers of AIIMS, 20 to 30% of the posts remain vacant, leaving the newer branches with insufficient experts to run the specialized departments. In addition, gaps in the infrastructure represent a significant obstacle. Even when buildings are completed, it often takes years to install modern equipment such as MRI and PET-CT scanners.
Research suffers
The absence of a functional referral system leads to overcrowding as patients flock to AIIMS even for primary care that should be handled at local health centres. This hinders both advanced research and specialized treatment. In addition, a lack of accommodation for patients and families traveling from remote areas remains a major problem, he says.
So even considering the fact that the state has a strong network of public health centres, there is a real possibility that these same issues could be enacted again in Kerala if and when AIIMS is set up here, he warns.
However, an AIIMS-like institution has long been an aspiration of the state and any such institution set up in Kerala would certainly be nurtured and developed as a premier clinical and advanced research centre, he says.
Published – 02 Feb 2026 20:30 IST