The Department of Anaesthesia at B. J. Medical College, headed by Dr. Trupti Shah, is a centre of academic excellence and clinical expertise. Established in 1955 with two faculty members, the department began its postgraduation programme in 1964 with 2 PG seats. Today, the department has grown to 34 faculty members and 65 NMC-recognised postgraduate seats per year, supporting 46 operating-theatre tables across the hospital.

The department delivers 24×7 anaesthesia services for 17–18 operating theatres covering a wide range of specialties and super-specialties, including Neurosurgery, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery, GI Surgery, Urology, Thoracic Surgery, Trauma, Joint Replacement, Spine Surgery and Cochlear Implant Surgery. The team also provides anaesthesia for outpatient procedures such as CT and MRI imaging, modified ECT and interventional radiology, alongside daily pain-management services, monitored anaesthesia care, 24×7 resuscitation and ventilator-supported intensive care.

Faculty served relentlessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, swine flu and other epidemics, as well as natural disasters including the Kutch earthquake. The department’s infrastructure includes modular operating theatres, modern anaesthesia workstations and multi-para monitors, USG machines, difficult-airway gadgets, fibreoptic bronchoscopes and nerve stimulators, alongside dedicated pre- and post-operative recovery areas, a pain clinic, a departmental library, a postgraduate classroom and a teaching museum.

Academic engagement spans structured undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, regular clinical audits, CME sessions and active research. Advanced training is delivered in general anaesthesia, regional techniques, critical care, trauma resuscitation, labour analgesia and procedural sedation. The department provides COLS, ACLS and BLS training to medical and paramedical staff, and has conducted COLS training for thousands of police personnel and teachers. Resident-led scientific work has been recognised with state-conference awards, and the department anchors annual workshops on paediatric epispadias-exstrophy and laparoscopic uro-surgery.