Bhubaneswar: With beds being often unavailable in AIIMS Bhubaneswar trauma and emergency unit, the patients’ attendants are forced to take their near and dear ones to private facilities and pay an exorbitant cost for their treatment. The emergency ward has only 50 beds, while the hospital receives far more critical patients daily.To manage the rush, the hospital refers patients to SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack. “As we cannot keep more than 50 patients at a time, we advise them to go to the SCBMCH and other hospitals. We cannot leave them waiting in the hospital for their turn,” an official says.Many themselves take patients to the SCB hospital or private hospitals in Bhubaneswar, fearing deterioration in their condition. “My son suffered serious injuries in a road accident. MKCG Medical College and Hospital referred him to AIIMS Bhubaneswar. We reached the trauma and emergency unit around midnight, but there was no bed. The hospital referred us to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. We finally went to a private hospital to save my son’s life,” says Bhabini Mali from Ganjam.Chaitanya Mallick from Angul district says they waited for an hour with a critical patient but did not get a bed at AIIMS. “A doctor on duty said the beds in the trauma and emergency unit were full. We finally went to SCBMCH,” he says.Activists and attendants, meanwhile, have been demanding that AIIMS Bhubaneswar increase the number of emergency beds or set up another trauma and emergency unit.The official says they are trying to add 50 to 100 more trauma and emergency beds in a nearby building. But to increase the capacity beyond that, an additional piece of land is required to create another trauma and emergency unit, says the official.Odisha health secretary Aswathy S confirms that AIIMS Bhubaneswar authorities have applied for additional land.Executive director Ashutosh Biswas says a critical care block is coming up on the campus to handle the increasing number of trauma and emergency patients. “Construction of the building is already over. The critical care block will have 150 ICU beds. It will immensely help trauma and emergency patients,” he says.Attendents say people come to AIIMS to get the best treatment at affordable prices. “If we do not get beds, where will we go. Private hospitals are charging a huge amount of money,” says MinatiPuhan from Bhadrak.Health activist Gouranga Mohapatra says the govt should create trauma centres at every district headquarters hospital. “The operation theatres of AIIMS Bhubaneswar should be utilised fully to clear patients from the trauma and emergency unit so that new patients can be admitted,” he says, adding the hospital should be given more land for expansion and setting up another trauma and emergency unit.