Healthcare services are likely to be disrupted on Friday as doctors, including private practitioners and those from private and government hospitals, will go on a dawn-to-dusk strike across Mysuru district as a part of nationwide doctors’ agitation in protest against the Centre’s move to allow AYUSH practitioners offer allopathic treatment and perform surgeries.
Barring emergency services and COVID-19 testing/treatment, all non-essential services, including outpatient services, are expected to be affected.
Strongly opposing the nod given to traditional systems of medicine - Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) – to perform surgical procedures like in modern medicine, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Mysuru unit sought to retain the originality of each systems of medicine and argued that the move may result in confusion among the public on medical therapies, especially surgeries.
IMA Mysuru President B.N. Anandravi told The Hindu that theIMA had already demanded immediate withdrawal of the notification of the amendment to the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) Act. “The strike on Friday will be joined by the government doctors besides all associated with the IMA,” he said.
The IMA has also opposed the amalgamation of different systems of medicine as recommended by a committee of NITI Aayog.
Dr. Anandravi said the amendment to the Central Act allows non-allopathic doctors to freely perform surgeries besides ratifying the mixed system of medicine where AYUSH doctors can practice modern medicine.
“We oppose the move and it’s incorrect too since each system has its own character and identity and it should not be integrated for offering healthcare services. Each system of medicine should be confined to its own practices without amalgamating with other systems for keeping the uniqueness and importance intact,” he suggested.
Thanks to the amendment, Ayurveda doctors can perform various types of surgeries like a surgeon of allopathy system. In the age of super-specialities where a general surgeon cannot perform all types of surgeries, how can Ayurveda doctors perform various surgeries, Dr. Anandravi asked.
The Ayurveda doctors’ line of treatment was different from the allopathy doctors. “When this is the case, how is it possible to integrate the system,” he questioned.
He said the IMA respects the traditional systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy and others. The government, instead of integrating the systems, should make efforts to strengthen each system and retain their individuality, expanding their reach and helping their growth worldwide.
Following the Centre’s move, the postgraduate students in Ayurveda would be trained and permitted to execute a variety of general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology, and dental procedures.
The notification was issued on November 19 where the students will be trained in two streams of surgery and would be awarded MS (Ayurveda) Shalya Tantra — (General Surgery) and MS (Ayurveda) Shalakya Tantra (disease of Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Oro-Dentistry).
