All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, is in the process of streamlining treatment arrangements for sitting members of Parliament that includes providing a nodal officer to coordinate and facilitate medical care arrangements.

AIIMS director M Srinivas, in a letter to YM Kandpal, joint secretary, Lok Sabha Secretariat, on Monday said that duty officers (who are qualified medical professionals) from department of hospital administration will be available in the AIIMS control round the clock to coordinate and facilitate arrangements.

The standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been issued for out patient department (OPD) and emergency consultation, and in-patient hospitalisation of sitting MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Sriniwas said.

Doctor, however, criticised the arrangement.

Dr Rohan Krishnan, president of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), said, “We have always been against VIP culture in hospitals, and we stand by that. It is disheartening that an institution like AIIMS is setting such a bad precedent for the country. Every patient in this country deserves good treatment, that includes an MP and also a homeless person.”