Hyderabad: The Director of Medical Education has ordered the deputation of 180 doctors from Osmania, Gandhi and NIMS hospitals to the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) in Sanathnagar, triggering concern over staff shortages at the three premier government hospitals just as the new facility prepares to open.
The DME order covers 98 professors and assistant professors, along with 82 senior residents, all to be moved to TIMS without any fresh recruitment for the new hospital. The doctors were relieved from their parent institutions on June 18 and directed to report for duty at TIMS by the morning of June 19.
Medical circles have warned that pulling specialists away from Osmania, Gandhi and NIMS risks badly disrupting super-speciality services at these hospitals, which already handle some of the heaviest patient loads in the state. Services at the three hospitals are reportedly already being affected as a result of the transfers.
Additionally, TIMS Sanathnagar’s inauguration date remains uncertain even as the deputation drive intensifies.
TIMS Sanathnagar, billed as a 1,000-bed super-speciality facility with 300 ICU beds and 29 major operation theatres, has been in the works for months and is expected to ease the burden on Osmania, Gandhi and NIMS once fully operational.
However, with permanent staffing posts for the hospital still pending clearance, the government has relied on deputations from existing institutions to run it, a pattern it followed earlier in March as well, when around 450 medical staff, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, were temporarily moved to TIMS ahead of its trial operations.
