New Delhi: All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the premier medical institute in India, will soon have a club with facilities like rooftop restaurant, a lounge, a reading room, and provision for watching films, and playing indoor games such as table tennis and billiards.
The step is being taken with a view to enable doctors to take a break from their hectic schedule, relax, and spend some quality time.
The project has been proposed by the Faculty Association of AlIMS (FAIIMS), which has recommended that the FAIIMS club, established around 50 years ago, be converted into a recreational centre. The work is likely to begin soon.
“A team of engineers has conducted a survey of the building, and work is expected to start soon,” a hospital administration official said.
The club was recently allotted a new floor by its administration, doubling its area to 6,000 square feet.
“It is important that doctors too take a break from their strenuous jobs after work. So it was essential that we revived this club,” a senior faculty member said.
In 1968, the club was allotted a four bedroom flat as a recreation centre to help doctors unwind after a hard day’s work. But gradually, the objective behind the club was lost because of the busy schedules of the doctors. It finally became a facility to provide accommodation to guests.
Though AIIMS has a spacious guesthouse, doctors could book a room in the club for Rs 500 a day for their guests.
The place was also used to accommodate outsiders attending conferences in AIIMS.
According to another faculty member, two rooms in the ground floor of the club will continue to serve as guest rooms. The other rooms, and the new floor, will be used for the new facilities.
