Medical Social Welfare Unit, Main Hospital, AIIMS

The foundation of Medical Social Welfare Unit was laid in 1960 when the first Medical Social Worker was appointed in the main hospital. The integration of Medical Social Services yielded very positive results as it provided a social and psychological support for the patients and alleviated the distress while receiving the treatment. As a result the Medical Social Workers were given a separate cadre in 1992 when the strength of the team was 24.

The Association of Medical Social Workers of AIIMS kept working for the upliftment of the Medical Social Work profession and as a result the designation was changed from Medical Social Worker to Medical Social Service Officer (MSSO) in 1997. Later on the Cadre Review Committee recommendation increased the strengths of MSSO from 24 to 41 in the year 2000. At present the strength of MSSO in AIIMS is 50 after the fresh appointments in 2012.

At present the Medical Social Welfare Unit, Main Hospital has 10 Medical Social Service Officers taking care of OPDs and Wards of more than 14 significant departments. The Medical Social Welfare Unit comes under the Medical Superintendent, Main Hospital (Dr. D. K. Sharma), the day-to-day activities are supervised by the Officer-in-charge (Dr. Anoop Daga).

In addition to the Medical Social Welfare Unit, AIIMS has 40 more Medical Social Services Officers placed in different departments and centers. They are working directly under the Chief/HOD of the concerned department.

Due to the professional efforts, sincerity & hard work of Medical Social Service Officers and the visionary support of the superior authorities, AIIMS has become the only institution in India with the biggest strength of Medical Social Workers in a Hospital setting.

The Medical Social Welfare Unit is located in Room No. 9, Ground Floor, R.A.K. OPD, Main Hospital, AIIMS. The contact number of the Medical Social Welfare Unit is 011-26594242 and 011-26594815 .