For ENT surgeries in Tanda hospital, waiting period is 1 yr

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 22

The waiting period for patients requiring surgeries in Tanda medical college is getting longer. In the ENT Department, the waiting period has extended to over one year while in other departments such as surgery and orthopaedics, it ranges between three weeks and two months.

Sources said that in the ENT Department of Tanda medical college, a patient had been given appointment for surgery on October 27, 2025. They added that the waiting period was going to get longer as the load of patients requiring surgeries in the hospital was going to increase after the government disallowed treatment under the Himcare scheme in private hospitals.

Shortage of staff

• A patient has been given October 27, 2025, as appointment for surgery
• Shortage of staff and the rush of patients, reasons for the long waiting period
• For surgeries in other departments such as surgery and orthopaedics, the waiting period is around two months

The sources said that the waiting period for surgeries in Tanda medical college was increasing due to the huge patient rush, shortage of specialist doctors and limited facilities. As per the data available with The Tribune, there was only one professor and one designated assistant professor in the ENT Department of the hospital. The ENT Department of Tanda medical college, which has more patient load than in the IGMC, Shimla, had only two doctors compared to 10 in the later hospital.

The sources said that as many as 262 patients were waiting for surgeries in the ENT Department of Tanda medical college. Dr Munish Sarosh, head of the ENT Department in the Tanda hospital, said that the waiting period for surgeries was over one year. He added that on an average, around 25 patients were coming to the ENT Department of the hospital for surgeries.

The sources said the waiting period for surgeries in the Orthopaedics Department was about one month while in the Surgery Department, it was about two months. Doctors had also written to the state government regarding the delay in the purchase of equipment for many departments.

As the government has disallowed free treatment under the Himcare scheme in private hospitals from September 1, it is expected that the patient rush for surgeries in Tanda medical college is likely to increase.

The Principal of Tanda medical college, Dr Milap Sharma, was not available for comments despite repeated calls to his mobile phone and Whatsapp messages.

Meanwhile, the Resident Doctors Association of Tanda medical college continued with its strike demanding security at workplace. The patient care services were hit in the hospital, which receives about 3,000 patients in the OPDs from various parts of the state.