By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, Dec 2:
The Indian Medical Association(IMA) has given a call for a day long strike on 11 December as a protest against AYUSH ministry’s decision to allow Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries, saying that it was an attempt to “poach” disciplines of modern medicine.
During the strike non-COVID-19 cases, will not be handled. Besides although ICU, labour rooms and emergency cases will be attended to, no elective surgeries will be performed from 6 AM to 6 PM.
“IMA Unequivocally condemns uncivil ways of the Central Council of Indian Medicine to arrogate itself to vivisect Modern Medicine and empower its practitioners with undeserving areas of practice” IMA tweeted and tagged PMO.
In a notification on Friday, the Indian Medicine Central Council (IMCC) amended the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016, to include the regulation to permit post-graduate students of Ayurveda to receive training and practice of “shalya” and “shalakya”. While the former term refers to general surgery, the latter is related to diseases of ear, nose, throat, head, eye, and orthodontistry. In other words, the Ayurveda practitioners can perform general surgery such as ophthalmology and dental procedures.
In a letter to AYUSH ministry on Saturday, the IMA said that the IMCC has a “dubious reputation” of prescribing modern medicine textbooks to its students. It warned that mixing modern medicine with other systems or “poaching” disciplines of modern medicine was “foul play”. “IMA exhorts the IMCC to develop their own surgical disciplines from their own ancient texts and not claim the surgical discipline of Modern Medicine as its own. Such a deviant practice is unbecoming of statutory body.” Dr Rajan Sharma, IMA National President said.
However the AYUSH Ministry has issued a statement clarifying the amendment, saying “Notification is specific to 58 specified surgical procedures and doesn’t allow Shalya & Shalakya PGs to take up any other surgeries”.
The doctors’ association also urged the Centre to refrain from posting doctors of modern medicine at Indian medicine colleges. “IMA sees this development as a retrograde step of mixing the systems, which will be resisted at all costs,” it said. The association said that students and practitioners of modern medicine were agitated over the matter and asked what would be the sanctity of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, the examination for students to study undergraduate medical courses in India, if such “lateral shortcuts” are taken.
The IMA also said that it does not allow its own members to teach disciplines of modern medicine to students of other systems. “Let every system grow on its own strength and purity,” it said. The doctors’ association asked the government to withdraw the order and teach Indian medicine disciplines based on its texts. It also asked the National Medical Commission (NMC) to take action in this regard. “NMC is equally responsible to protect the purity of modern medicine,” the letter said.
The IMA had earlier opposed the Centre’s decision to permit traditional systems of Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy to offer allopathic therapies and treatment.
