Relief in sight for patients waiting months for surgery, TIMS Sanathnagar to take up long-pending cases

Hyderabad's TIMS Sanathnagar hospital will alleviate surgery wait times by addressing long-pending cases as it opens soon.

Patients who have been waiting for months for surgeries and medical procedures at major government hospitals in Hyderabad may soon find relief, with the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) at Sanathnagar set to take up long-pending cases once it begins operations. The 1000-bed hospital, set to be inaugurated on Ugadi — March 19 — is expected to handle the backlog surgeries from high-volume government hospitals in the city, where waiting period for certain procedures often extend for several months.

Speaking to The Hindu, Telangana’s Director of Medical Education (DME), A. Narendra Kumar, said Osmania General Hospital (OGH), Gandhi Hospital and the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), frequently have waiting periods of three to five months for certain treatments and surgeries. “Once services begin at TIMS Sanathnagar, these waiting-list cases will be diverted to the new facility so that patients can receive treatment, while also ensuring that the hospital begins functioning with a steady patient load. That way, we will have the patients and also do justice for the waiting cases by clearing them fast,” he said.

Since the hospital does not have a medical college attached to it at present, the department is planning its early operations carefully to ensure adequate patient flow. Dr. Kumar said that institutions with medical colleges usually have an existing patients and catchment area, whereas a standalone hospital needs to build its patient base through referrals and redistribution of cases.

The hospital will initially function with around 450 staff members. Of these, roughly one-third will be doctors, while the remaining personnel will include nurses, technicians, pharmacists and patient care staff. Deployment lists have already been prepared, including specialists such as cardiologists who will be posted at the facility when services begin.

Until formal recruitment is completed, the hospital will run with doctors and other staff temporarily deployed from government hospitals such as Osmania, Gandhi, Government General Hospital (GGH) Quthbullapur and GGH Maheshwaram. “Most of the personnel being assigned are from city-based hospitals so that services in distant districts are not disrupted. This arrangement is expected to continue for about two to three months until permanent recruitment is taken up,” he said.

Dr. Kumar said recruitment for TIMS institutions will be conducted at the national level and the salary structure follows the pattern of the NIMS. Sanction for manpower is yet to be issued by the State government. Once approval is granted, the recruitment process will begin.