Hernia Seva is our promise — and the programme that backs it. Free and deeply subsidised hernia surgery for patients in genuine need. Reviewed by an independent advisory board. Operated in the order they are approved.
No long forms, no paperwork ordeal. We ask only what we need to make a fair decision.
Send a WhatsApp message with a photo of your medical records and a brief note about your situation. Or visit Bawa Hospital in person.
An independent advisory board reviews your application — medical urgency first, financial need second. Decision typically within 7–14 days.
Approved patients join the waitlist. We operate Seva patients in the order they are approved, balanced by medical urgency.
The same operating theatre, the same surgeons, the same standard of care as every other patient. Free or at a deeply subsidised cost.
Hernia Seva works because three things are funded, structured, and accountable.
Cases are not decided by the operating surgeon. An independent advisory board — a mix of senior physicians and trusted community leaders — reviews each application and makes the call. This insulates the decision from anyone's commercial interest.
We do not over-promise. The institute commits a fixed number of operating slots each month to Hernia Seva — funded by a combination of BSERF, hospital allocation, and CSR partners. Honest scarcity is what keeps the programme sustainable.
A Seva patient receives the identical surgical care as a paying patient. Same operating theatre. Same surgeon. Same mesh. Same nursing team. Same follow-up. The only thing that differs is the bill.
Most "charitable" surgery programmes promise more than they deliver. We would rather be honest about both what Hernia Seva can do — and what it cannot.
Operates as many approved patients as our funded capacity allows each month. Currently, that is a small number of cases — we will grow that as funding and donor partnerships expand.
Treats every approved patient with the same standard of care as every paying patient. Documents each Seva surgery formally — under the Bawa Surgical Education & Research Foundation when applicable — for transparency and donor accountability.
Helps approved patients who are willing to share an anonymous case summary with donors — only with explicit consent, and never with any identifying detail.
It is not insurance. Applying does not guarantee approval. The board may decline a case if it is not medically appropriate, if the financial need is not genuine, or if our capacity is exhausted.
It is not unlimited. The waitlist is honest — sometimes weeks, occasionally longer for non-urgent cases. If your case is urgent and we cannot fit you in time, we will help you find another path, including referrals to government schemes (Ayushman Bharat, ECHS, state schemes) and other charitable hospitals.
It is not a marketing tool. Hernia Seva exists for the patients it serves, not for the publicity it generates. We do not photograph patients, name them publicly, or use their stories without consent.
The Hernia Seva Advisory Board is independent of the operating surgeon and the hospital's commercial leadership. It is composed of three types of members — by design.
Practising doctors with no commercial stake in Bawa Hospital. They assess the medical urgency, surgical appropriateness, and whether Hernia Seva is the right path for the patient.
Respected local figures from religious, social, and civic life in Ludhiana and Punjab — chosen for their judgement, integrity, and ability to assess genuine need without bias.
One representative from the Bawa Surgical Education & Research Foundation, present to ensure procedural accountability and proper use of donor funds — but with no veto authority.
We make this list public because transparency is part of the promise.
No forms to download. No notarised affidavits. No queues to stand in. Send a WhatsApp message, attach what you have, and we will take it from there.
WhatsApp +91-9155100001 with the words "Hernia Seva" and a brief description of your situation.
Photos of any prescriptions, scans, or reports you have. If you have none, send a clear photo of the swelling or area of concern.
A few lines about your work, family, and why surgery elsewhere is not feasible for you. No documents required at this stage.
Within 7–14 days, we will respond with the board's decision and next steps — whether approved, declined, or requesting more information.
Hernia Seva runs on a combination of BSERF endowment, hospital pro-bono allocation, and contributions from donors. If you would like to fund a surgery — or part of one — for a patient who would otherwise go without, we would welcome it.
All contributions are channelled through the Bawa Surgical Education & Research Foundation (Section 8, non-profit). Donors receive a written acknowledgement and, with patient consent, an anonymous case summary of the surgery their contribution made possible.
No. Hernia Seva is not insurance. The board approves a case when it is medically appropriate, when there is genuine financial need, and when we have capacity. Most genuine applications are approved — but not all.
If your case is declined, we will tell you why and, where possible, help you find another path — including government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, ECHS, ESI, or state-level free surgery programmes, and other charitable hospitals.
It varies. Most approved patients are operated within 4–8 weeks. Urgent cases — incarcerated hernias, large symptomatic hernias, patients in significant pain — are prioritised and may be operated within days.
Non-urgent cases occasionally wait longer, depending on the month's Seva capacity. We update each patient honestly about their expected timeline.
No. Hernia Seva is open to patients from anywhere — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi NCR, Jammu & Kashmir, and beyond. All regions are welcome.
Outstation patients are welcome — Bawa Hospital is easily approachable in Civil Lines, Ludhiana. Where genuine need is established, the programme can also help with travel-related costs.
Not at the application stage. The first step is just a WhatsApp message describing your situation. If the board needs more information to make a fair decision, we will ask — but we keep documentation requirements minimal and dignified.
Where formal documents help (e.g., income certificate, ration card, BPL card, government scheme rejection letter), they speed up the review. But their absence does not block an application.
No. This is the most important promise of Hernia Seva. A Seva patient receives the identical surgical care as any paying patient — the same operating theatre, the same surgeons, the same mesh, the same nursing team, the same follow-up reviews. The only difference is the bill.
Yes. Your medical records and personal information are kept confidential and used only for the board's review. We never share identifying details with donors, the public, or anyone outside the care team.
If you choose to allow us to share an anonymous case summary with donors who fund Seva (no name, no photo, no identifying detail), it requires your explicit written consent. You can decline this at any point without affecting your treatment.
Yes. Family members, neighbours, ASHA workers, doctors, NGOs, gurdwara sevadars, and other community members regularly apply on behalf of patients who cannot apply themselves. We welcome these referrals — please include the patient's contact details so we can reach them directly.
Complex cases — large ventral hernias, recurrent hernias, loss-of-domain reconstructions — cost significantly more than a standard inguinal repair. The board can still approve these cases, often through partial Seva (where the patient contributes what they can and the programme covers the rest) or by linking to specific donors who choose to sponsor complex cases.
The promise is the same: no patient goes back because they cannot pay.