A doctor with an army background has been given the responsibility of being the full-fledged medical superintendent of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare has appointed Colonel (retd) Dr Shyam Sundar Gupta, who is set to join AIIMS-Patna on August 21. At present, the anaesthesia department head, Dr Umesh Kumar Bhadani, was given additional charge of the medical superintendent.

Sources said appointing Dr Gupta, who has army background and is known to have worked in the toughest conditions while serving in military hospitals, is a well-thought out move of the Centre as far as expediting the AIIMS-Patna project is concerned.

The full-fledged hospital of AIIMS-Patna is yet to materialise. The hospital is still unable to provide its services to trauma patients apart from providing other super-specialised treatments.

Gupta (59), who is associated with Bihar as he had done his MBBS from Darbhanga Medical College in 1976, said he had not fixed any priority regarding AIIMS-Patna while speaking exclusively to The Telegraph from Delhi.

"Let me go to the institution and check the facilities there. It would be hypothetical to comment about what will be my priorities right now. I am a retired army doctor and have been in command of various military hospitals in Uttarakhand and Punjab. Providing service in a military set-up and a civic set-up is different. I will try to use my experience of working in the army hospitals in the best possible manner and will try to get the full-fledged hospital of AIIMS-Patna to start. I will try to achieve this with the support of every staff. Right from the safaiwallah (sanitation workers) to the medical superintendent, each and every staff's role is important. It should be a teamwork," said Gupta.

An official of AIIMS-Patna said the appointment of a full-fledged medical superintendent will benefit AIIMS.

"Dr Bhadani has been heading the anaesthesia department. Getting a full-time medical superintendent was required as Bhadani Sir also has to give his cent per cent to the anaesthesia department. The new medical superintendent has an army background and also has a masters in hospital administration degree. We can expect a strict disciplinarian approach from him in the AIIMS-Patna related work. It will be helpful as the project is running slow at the moment."

AIIMS director Prabhat Kumar Singh has pinned hopes on the new medical superintendent. "Faculty members were being used for administrative posts but we need full-fledged officials. Dr Bhadani was doing a good job as a medical superintendent but how long will he be able to deliver his best because anaesthesia is an important department. There is not much pressure in the department but when the department becomes fully functional, it will become difficult for Dr Bhadani. The best part is that the new medical superintendent has donned the role of administrator earlier as well," said Singh over phone from Lucknow.