Uttarakhand CM Rawat inaugurates helipad at AIIMS, Rishikesh premises

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday inaugurated a newly built helipad at AIIMS, Rishikesh saying it will help airlift the sick to the healthfacility in times of emergency.

Citing the vulnerability of Uttarakhand's hilly areas to natural disasters during monsoon, Rawat said a helipad within the precincts of AIIMS will be of immense utility for the people as they can be ferried directly to the hospital incase of a crisis.

After landing at the AIIMS, Rishikesh helipad a patient can be transported to the trauma centre of the hospital in just nine minutes, Rawat said.

Over the last three years, lives of over 100 people have been saved by airlifting them directly to health facilities in helicopters, he said.

AIIMS, Rishikesh is the first hospital in the country with a helipad located within its premises, Rawat said.

Expressing concern at the surge in coronavirus cases, Rawat asked senior doctors at AIIMS to pay special attention to COVID patients.

He said the premier institute should have access to patients in the remotest parts of the state as the service has a meaning only when it reaches the poor.

AIIMS doctors also conducted a mock drill on the occasion by bringing patients by heli service to the helipad and taking them to the trauma centre of the facility.

Assembly Speaker Premchand Aggarwal, Rishikesh Mayor Anita Mamgai, AIIMS Director Ravikant and the Chief Minister's Aviation Advisor Deep Shrivastava were present at the inauguration.