Bimonthly free cataract surgery camps are conducted offering a ray of hope to the poor and needy, striving to overcome the huge back-log of Cataract blindness in various parts of Kerala. In the camps consultations, medicines and treatment are provided for free. After completing 40 camps, we have screened more than 10,000 people and given free operations to over 1000 patients. Our target plan is to expand to 1000 free cases per month.

The first Amrita Mobile Medical Assistance camps were conducted in the tribal villages of Idukki and Wynad. The indigenous people are very poor. At each camp about 300 patients attend, some walk great distances, and arrive full of hope for immediate hospital treatment. The patients are screened for any major disease and referred to AIMS for further management. For the rest of the people, free medicines and health care education are provided. We have also extended our service to other areas in Kerala like Alapuzha and Trichur districts.

The Amrita Diabetic Welfare Association (ADWA) is an independent organization established through the AIMS Endocrinology Department to help sufferers become aware of what they must do when they become diabetic. Among the charitable activities of ADWA are:

• Diabeat- a regular quarterly journal on Diabetes
• Free Insulin for Poorppatients whose need for insulin is mandatory, but are unable to afford it
• Diabetes Education in School Programme - This program aims to bring about life-style changes at an early age and target the coming generations in a preventative programme
• Counselling Centres run voluntarily by diabetic patients who are ADWA members, providing counselling to diabetics in the locality with regard to diet, life-style modification, and education about all aspects of diabetes
• Medical Camps conducted periodically to provide consultation, treatment advice and education

The department also held Amrita Diafest, 2004 from 11th to 13th November 2004 at Town Hall, Ernakulam in commemoration with "World Diabetes Day" promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The event featured medical exhibitions, cultural programmes, competitions, debates, film shows and expert medical check ups and various other programmes to give an opportunity to learn more about this very silent killer.

A cleft is a birth defect that results from the failure of tissue and bone to fuse and close during pregnancy. Cleft lip and cleft palate are the fourth most frequent birth defects in the world, affecting one out of every 700 newborns. Over 35,000 babies are born each year in India with these congenital abnormalities. AIMS is one of the few centres in India providing cleft lip and palate surgery and rehabilitation service.

The Pain and Palliative Home Care Programme provides compassionate and fully charitable care for patients with advanced cancers and other incurable diseases. Aiming to relieve distressing physical symptoms and to provide psychological support and counselling to such patients and their families. Most of the terminally ill patients are too sick to come to the hospital regularly. The home-care unit is therefore a vital component of the palliative care service.

Most private hospitals are not interested in providing such a service since it is not financially remunerative.All services are provided free of charge to all patients and free medicines are also offered specifically to poor patients.

February, 2001- As soon as the extent of the devastation from the Gujarat earthquake was known, a team of medical specialists from AIMS was rushed to the scene to assist in any and every way possible. AIMS also sent two ambulances and a variety of medical equipment to help with the effort. The two ambulances brought enough equipment to set up two operating theatres side-by-side to be ready when the surgeons and medical support crew arrived.

Large quantities of life-saving medicine from AIMS worth over half a million rupees and medical equipment worth more than two million rupees have been airlifted from Ahmedabad to Bhuj to be used by the medical team in their efforts. In addition, the entire AIMS staff put aside one day's salary to donate towards the survivors' relief.

Set in serene misty mountains and verdant valleys, enlivened by birdsong and scampering monkeys, an AIMS’ outreach programme is steadily unfolding in the Wayanad District of North Kerala. The Amrita Kripa Charitable Hospital at Kalpetta was inaugurated in late 2004. Directed by the husband and wife team of Dr. Sanjeevan Vasudevan and Dr. Ajitha, founders of the Pain Relief and Palliative Care Department at AIMS, the mission of this hospital is to serve the indigent people of the area who need access to good medical care and, in particular, to treat the Adivasi population.

Telemedicine services started on 23rd September, 2002 by providing teleconsultation to the people of Lakshadweep through the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kavaratti. Lakshadweep is a perfect example for the application of Telemedicine since it is group of islands located about 440kms away from the mainland, with a total population of about 64,000. The residents of these islands find it extremely difficult and expensive to travel to the mainland for specialized medical care. The Telemedicine network makes specialist consultations available right at their doorstep. In past two years, we have so far provided over 800 teleconsultations to the people staying in these remote places, which have helped them avoid unnecessary travel to the mainland to seek specialty medical consultations along with about 250 CME Programmes and seminars/conferences telecasted to remote medical institutes.

The Emergency Medicine Centre offers many speciality areas of emergency medicine, including toxicology, resuscitation medicine, and trauma care. The Centre is open 24 hours a day, every day, to anyone who needs emergency treatment.

A highly skilled team of paramedics serve as the immediate response team. AIMS offers emergency specialist physicians and trained nurses. A full surgical team is available for emergency surgeries. There are critical care rooms, state of the art equipment, and a special area equipped for paediatric patients.

Emergency transport service with mobile intensive care units serve the community 24 hours a day as patients are brought to the hospital quickly in event of emergency.

AIMS is committed to providing compassionate medical care to all, regardless of race, caste, religion, or economic condition. We offer charitable care to the fullest extent possible for those in need. As medical insurance is largely unavailable in India, the hospital dedicates a portion of its resources to serving patients who are too poor to pay for their treatment.

While the majority of AIMS' patients pay for all of their services, in 2005 free in-patient treatment or major financial concessions were extended to 18,045 patients, covering the whole spectrum of activities. Of these patients, 5445 patients received totally free treatment. In addition, another 11,500 out-patients were recipients of charitable care. Among the in-patients, free surgeries were conducted in 299 out of the 1246 surgeries by Adult Cardiology, and Adult Cardiovascular Surgery, with major financial concessions extended to another 347 patients - representing over half of all of the adult cardiac surgeries for the year. Among children, nearly 58% of the 695 Paediatric Cardiology surgeries in 2005 were either totally free or offered with major financial concessions.

In addition, to make available free medical check-ups to poor patients at their door-step in remote villages, who are not able to access the facilities in AIMS at Kochi due to distance, more than 100 free medical camps were conducted in 2005 in those inaccessible villages. After diagnosis in the free camps, patients are often brought to AIMS to make them beneficiaries of free medical facilities.

These letters are a sample of the thousands we have received from patients and their families who were afforded either free treatment or services at a greatly reduced charge.     Click here to View Patients letter