Patients complain of short supply of medicine at Siddha hospital

TIRUCHI

Acute shortage of Siddha and Ayurvedic medicines at District Headquarters Siddha Hospital, functioning at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital complex in Tiruchi, is affecting treatment to patients.

On an average 700 patients visit the hospital a day for treatment. Besides seeking treatment for fever, body aches, cold and cough, patients visit the hospital for getting medicine for skin diseases, hypertension, sugar, thyroid and others. There are patients, who seek treatment for cancer at the hospital.

Thanks to the increasing number of people turning to alternative systems of medicine, the number of patients visiting the hospital is gradually increasing. It was just around 250 to 300 patients till two years ago. It has gone up to around 700 patients a day. But, there are complaints that except treating patients affected by common complaints such as fever, cold, cough and a few others, the hospital does not have sufficient medicines for diseases such as hypertension, diabetics, psoriasis, gynecological disorders and others.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation Limited (TAMPCOL), a State government owned company, supplies medicines to the government Siddha hospitals and clinics across the State.

It is alleged that though the TAMPCOL possessed certified formulas to produce or procure more than 1,000 Siddha drugs, it was supplying drugs for just about 30 diseases.

“Madumega Sooranam” and “Sarpagandha” are being generally prescribed for diabetics and hypertension. Similarly, “Rasasundi Milagu” is given for treating psoriasis. But the patients affected by diabetics and hypertension are invariably told that there was no stock of the medicines at the hospital.

“I am taking treatment at the Siddha hospital for high blood pressure for the last 10 years. I get medicine sometimes. But, on many occasions I am told that there is no stock of medicine,” says Thomas (39) of Tiruchi.

In the absence of sufficient medicine for blood pressure, he said that he was forced to spend a huge amount for purchasing medicine at private medicine stores.

“The government should scale up supply of all types of Siddha medicines to Government Siddha hospitals,” Thomas added.

When contacted, S. Kamaraj, District Siddha Medical Officer, Tiruchi, said that the number of patients seeking Siddha treatments had gone up sharply. Steps have been taken to receive more drugs for all common diseases from the TAMPCOL, he said.