You were awarded the Himachal Gaurav Puraskar a few days ago. In a career spanning over three decades, what have been your key achievements?
Making the AIMSS, Chamiyana, fully operational after the initial hiccups ranks among my top achievements. Besides, I was declared the best DM Resident at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, in 2009. Then, I established the Department of Gastroenterology at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), Shimla. Serving in Kinnaur district immediately after completing my MBBS for over five years and working on high prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the Spiti valley is something I cherish deeply.
The AIMSS, Chamiyana, is one of the few super-specialty hospitals working without basic departments like medicine, surgery and orthopaedics? Does it make your job more challenging?
It is challenging but the management and treatment of patients is not compromised at all. We have a clear understanding with the IGMC that patients could be shifted for the required treatment from one hospital to the other. Also, there’s some resource sharing as well for the benefit of the patients. For example, we station a doctor at the IGMC for conducting endoscopy on fixed days in a week. While we would want patients to come directly to Chamiyana, we are open to conducting some procedures at the IGMC, if required.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has made it clear that he wants to equip hospitals with the latest machines, comparable to those available at the PGI and AIIMS, New Delhi. At the Chamiyana hospital, we have the advanced equipment for endoscopy, colonoscopy, as well as modern CT scan, X-ray and ultrasound machines. We will shortly get three Tesla MRI machines and tests related to neurology will be conducted here. Additionally, we are the first to start robotic surgeries in the state.
There’s some shortage of faculty in a couple of departments like neurology and endocrinology. In most of the departments, there is no shortage of senior faculty. We are offering DM and DNB courses, which will help us develop homegrown faculty to fill the gaps. At present, we are facing a shortage of Senior Residents but this is being addressed. The government has allowed us to hire paramedical staff on the outsourced basis to ensure that patient care is not compromised.
A narrow approach road is still a cause for concern for patients as well as staff? What is being done to address this problem?
Initially, it was a big problem but now it has largely been addressed. We have police personnel managing traffic along the narrow stretch of the road. Besides, land has been acquired for widening the road and tenders have also been issued for the work. I hope the issue will be sorted out shortly.
It will emerge as one of the finest health institutions, as envisioned by the Chief Minister. We have already made significant progress in a short time and will keep adding facilities to make it even better. At present, the work is underway to build a critical care block and a 40-bed hostel for the residents. Once ready, these will enhance patient care and the overall management of the hospital.
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