IMA’s medical bandh today

Protest against move to allow Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries in modern medicine

Thiruvananthapuram Doctors of modern medicine in the State are joining their colleagues in other parts of the country in observing a nationwide medical bandh being organised by the Indian Medical Association on Friday in protest against the Central government’s recent move to allow Ayurveda doctors also to perform surgeries in modern medicine.

The doctors in private and public sector hospitals will stay away from outpatient clinics from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and other than emergency services, ICU and labour room services and COVID-19 care, no other hospital services will be available on Friday.

Indian Medical Association’s State leaders on Thursday appealed to the public to join the strike of the doctors who were defending public health. They also appealed to the public not to go to hospitals on Friday so as to avoid inconvenience.

All professional associations of the doctors in the private and public sectors, including the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association and the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association, are participating in the strike.

Notification

The IMA’s call for strike follows a notification by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) which regulates Ayurveda education and practice, amending the Postgraduate Ayurveda Education Regulations, 2016 and allowing PG students of Shalyatantra (general surgery) and Shalakyatantra (ENT, eye, dentistry) to practice 58 surgical procedures after obtaining formal training.

Without adopting the principles of modern medicine, including sterilisation, anaesthesia, and the solid back-up of modern medicine’s pharmacopoeia, surgeries cannot be performed in a crude manner. Surgery is not just one procedure alone and it involves monitoring the patient, preventing infection using antibiotics and anticipating and preventing any medical emergencies which might suddenly surface. How will Ayurveda surgeons handle all this, the IMA asked.

Though Ayurveda might have recorded surgical procedures in its ancient past, it is very evident that it has never progressed beyond the mention in ancient texts. The Centre is endangering the health of the public by assuming that short-term training will enable the Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries, which modern medicine doctors perform after several years of intense study and training. The CCIM should immediately withdraw the controversial notification, the IMA demanded

Source: Read Full Article