The Indian Medical Association encourages various medicine systems and appreciates its unique value but "mixopathy" will lead to encroachment of the ayurvedic system, said J. A. Jayalal, National president, Indian Medical Association.
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Dr. Jayalal was of the opinion that the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy was not spending enough time developing the medicine systems.
On Wednesday, Dr. Jayalal met the doctors who are on relay hunger strike in Tiruchi. He was part of a team undertaking a rally from Chennai, via Tambaram, Madhuranthakam, Villupuram, Ulundurpet and Perambalur.
“There are 411 Ayurveda colleges in this country. The basic requirement to set up such an educational facility is to have a 60-bedded hospital. The Ministry can create more colleges, more research institutes to help develop the system,” he said.
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Dr. Jayalal said that according to the government notification, ayurveda practitioners would be allowed to perform a list of 58 surgeries, including general surgery, orthopaedic, dental surgeries and ENT surgery. “Now, if the ayurvedic practitioner begins to operate on a patient who they believe has a ruptured appendicitis, which is there in the list of 58 surgeries, and only when they operate do they find out it is an ectopic pregnancy, will they leave the patient on the operation table and walk away?” he wondered.
The IMA has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the government’s move, he said. “If push comes to shove, we will close down hospitals, but for now, we do not want patients to suffer,” Dr. Jayalal said.