Positioning SKIMS to be centre of excellence in global healthcare
May the Institute remain a place where science, compassion and justice meet in service of humanity.
Prof (Dr.) M Ashraf Ganie
Health is a right for every person who enters our doors. Last year, we took a decisive turn—renewing our commitment to modernization, equitable care and academic excellence. Once an institution chooses its direction, every step is either progress or regression.
In the past year, SKIMS recorded nearly 15 lakh patient visits, over one lakh admissions, around half a lakh emergency registrations and more than 20,000 surgeries. Behind each number is a story of trust—and that trust creates an ethical obligation. With 45–50 thousand people entering daily, pressure on our system is immense, yet we treated it as a call to redesign services. Emergency care was restructured with scientific triage, separation of medical, surgical and paediatric emergencies, critical/non-critical pathways, a five-suit O.T. complex, 24×7 SMART lab, dedicated CT scanner, Ayushman cell and expanded radiology. A 100-bed emergency expansion and a dedicated trauma centre are on the horizon.
Outpatient services were broadened with new super speciality clinics including liver transplant, paediatric pulmonology, endocrinology, psychiatry and drug de-addiction. Online appointments and kiosks will streamline care. New ICUs are planned as 50 ventilators stand procured. Equipment worth ₹100 crore was added to boost high-end care. Decentralised Ayushman services, thirty new pay rooms, strengthened pharmacy and laboratory support have significantly improved patient satisfaction. Bone marrow and kidney transplant capacity has risen by 50%.
Improving Cancer Care Facilities
Cancer care, a major challenge for our region, received priority. With 10,000 new cancer cases annually in J&K, the SKIMS State Cancer Institute expanded day care beds, added preventive oncology and upgraded services. A ₹29 crore linear accelerator, ₹24 crore 3T MRI, 128-slice CT, mammography and other advanced systems are being installed. A hub-and-spoke ONCONET model is being developed so that cancer patients receive care closer to home. A proposal for upgrading the Cancer Institute to a Zonal Cancer Centre has been submitted to the Government of India.
Strengthening Human Resources & Academic Excellence
Human resources—long a challenge—saw major correction. Over 1100 long pending promotions were cleared. 1400 paramedical, ministerial and 130 faculty posts stand referred for recruitment, following exhaustive financial concurrence. Institutions grow only when their people grow.
Academically, SKIMS introduced new programmes including DM Critical Care Medicine, MCh Endocrine Surgery, DrNB Cardiac Anaesthesia and Fellowship in Cardiac Physiology. Eleven more seats/programmes are under process, along with a proposal for 100 additional PG seats. MOUs with national and international institutes ensure our faculty and students remain globally connected. Throughout 2025, SKIMS hosted conferences, CMEs, campaigns and public health events, turning observances like World Cancer Day and World Diabetes Day into meaningful community outreach. Under your guidance, the Food Safety and Health Conclave highlighted that health is shaped not only in hospitals but in homes, workplaces and environments.
Research has become a strong pillar. SKIMS created a research vision, established a research cell and built a state-of-the-art Research Lab with global collaborations. This year, SKIMS secured ₹50 crore in competitive extramural grants under DBT SAHAJ, NIDAN, DHR Centres of Excellence and more. Twenty-five additional proposals have been submitted. Prestigious projects such as Genome India, ICMR PCOS Task Force and INDIAB were completed. Publications in Nature Genetics, The Lancet and JAMA placed SKIMS on the global scientific map. SKIMS is no longer only a consumer of knowledge but a contributor.
Future Plans
These achievements are the foundation for an ambitious next phase. Plans include strengthening transplant services with liver and heart transplant, establishing a dedicated trauma centre and developing advanced centres for neurosciences, cardiac sciences and robotic surgery. Future-oriented centres—One Health, Precision Medicine, AI and Medicine, High Altitude Medicine, Sports Medicine, a clinical data repository and a Centre for NCDs—are being conceptualised to meet emerging healthcare realities. New infrastructure including a separate OPD block, doctors’ hostel, auditorium, stadium, gym and faculty lounges will support those who serve patients.
At the core of all this stands a moral obligation. Surah Aal Imran reminds us that we are raised for the benefit of mankind—to promote good, prevent harm and uphold values that dignify life. For SKIMS, this is not theory but daily practice: evidence-based care by residents, compassionate advocacy by nurses, and integrity in administration. This is the ethical grammar SKIMS must strengthen every year.
Today, we honour the vision of Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, and the generations of professionals who built SKIMS under far greater constraints. We also honour every person—attendant, technician, nurse, resident and consultant—whose combined effort saves lives, as we witnessed so vividly during the COVID-19 crisis.
To our students and young doctors: technology will grow, yet inequality in health persists. What will define your contribution is clear thinking, scientific discipline and ethical clarity—the resolve to give every patient the same care you would wish for your own family.
The journey ahead is demanding. Expectations are high, scientific challenges are complex and resources are finite. But we have a dedicated community of professionals who consistently rise to the occasion. With collective effort, critical thinking and integrity, SKIMS can become a true centre of excellence for the Himalayan region and beyond.
We seek continued financial support, policy guidance and administrative independence to realise these goals. May SKIMS remain a place where science, compassion and justice meet in service of humanity.
(This is the gist of the speech delivered by the Director SKIMS, Prof. (Dr.) M. Ashraf Ganie on the 43rd Annual Day of SKIMS.)
