MCR TIMS Sanathnagar to begin IP services within two days; NIMS to provide initial hand-holding support

The newly inaugurated Marri Channa Reddy Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (MCR TIMS) at Sanathnagar in Hyderabad is set to begin in-patient (IP) services in the next two days, with the 1,082-bed hospital initially admitting non-emergency cases and gradually expanding its services, according to its director, A. Narendra Kumar.

The hospital is still building up its manpower and putting in place the systems required for full-scale operations. Dr Kumar said recruitment was being undertaken through multiple channels as the institute prepares to progressively expand its clinical services.

The Telangana government has sanctioned 2,360 posts for MCR TIMS, but the recruitment process for these posts is yet to begin. As the institute is an autonomous one, appointments to these posts will have to be made through a separate recruitment mechanism, similar to the system followed by the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), he said.

Nearly 1,200 vacant posts redeployed

To ensure that services can begin without waiting for the regular recruitment process, the government has redeployed nearly 1,200 vacant posts from various government medical colleges to MCR TIMS and directed the institute to fill them.

Recruitment on a contract basis is also under way through the District Selection Committee (DSC) chaired by the Hyderabad Collector. This includes 144 medical officers and more than 80 laboratory and other technicians, Dr Kumar said.

There is also another temporary manpower arrangement in the works. Posts sanctioned for the expansion of NIMS, which are not immediately required there, will be used to provide personnel to MCR TIMS. The staff recruited against these posts will be made available to MCR TIMS until the institute completes its own regular recruitment, he said.

Pneumatic tube system to transport blood samples

One of the less visible but technologically significant features of MCR TIMS is its pneumatic tube system, which is designed to move materials across the hospital without requiring staff to physically carry them from one department to another.

The system propels capsules through a network of tubes at speeds of around 20 to 33 feet per second. This means laboratory samples, medicines and blood can reach their destination in about a minute, making the system particularly useful when speed is critical.

The network has around 34 stations across the hospital, with a series of conduits and diverters allowing capsules to be routed from one location to another.

There is, however, a limit to what the system can carry. Each capsule has a maximum carrying capacity of 5 kg, meaning larger or heavier consignments will still have to be transported manually.