Hyderabad: Newly appointed Director of the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Dr Lavu Narendranath said his priority would be to improve patient care in the hospital. He also admitted that financial power was concentrated in a few hands and he would like to empower more people to have a say in the financial affairs of the institution.
Dr Lavu Narendranath, a Padma Shri, took charge on Sunday as the new director of NIMS on the recommendations of the search committee.
At one point, the search committee thought of bringing in new faces from outside the institution to lead it, but finally zeroed in on Dr Narendranath. An orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Narendranath brings with him a deep knowledge of the working of the hospital.
He has worked with the former President of India, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to invent ultra low weight prosthetic limbs for polio affected persons and amputees.
“I think time should be given for both. I would want to fix responsibilities on individuals based on their performance. There are a lot of senior faculty at NIMS who are just two or three years junior to me. They can be entrusted with a lot of work,” said Dr Narendranath.
“I personally feel the administration should be out in the wards. It was the practice earlier but it was slowly given up and I want to bring that back,” he added.
Dr Narendranath also admitted that there could be corruption in the NIMS administration and said his priority was to see it is not repeated. “There are allegations of corruption and there are so many so it must be true. But, at the same time, it is also easy to make allegations and no action can be taken until they are proven.”
Listing out his priorities, he said he would look at expanding the purchase committee and also include external experts in decision making. “The habit of our hospital is not bargaining with a supplier and not checking what rate the supplier is selling the same products at outside. But now we want to create a level playing field,” he said. He said the administration is working to get the NIMS Bibinagar campus back on track. “The construction was completed about five years ago. We are planning to get it done in phases,” he said.
The government is looking at adding new specialties at the Bibinagar campus which are not available at NIMS. A trauma centre will be set up for accident victims between Warangal and Hyderabad.
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