Indian Medical Association, the voluntary organization that looks after the interest of doctors and the medical community announced a nationwide doctor’s strike. This strike has been called against the center for their decision of allowing post-graduated doctors of Ayurveda to perform surgeries.
Although the apex doctor’s body has called out for the withdrawal of all non-essential and non-covid services between morning 6 AM to 6 PM in the evening, civilians can still see healthcare services being disrupted on some level.
Over 1,00,000 doctors associated with the Maharashtra Medical Council and over 45,000 doctors from IMA will be taking part in this strike against the center’s decision.
Why IMA Oposses the Government’s Decision:
Central Council of Indian Medicine earlier this October announced that postgraduate students in Ayurveda that undergo Shalya(general surgery) and Shalakya(ear, nose, throat, dentistry, neck, and head) can perform a sum total of 58 surgeries.
The decision by CCIM brought about a flurry of debates between the modern healthcare experts and practitioners of Ayurveda. IMA in its statement shared its critical stance against the decision. The statement read, “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,”
The statement also said that IMA had no objections to the list of terms the Ayurvedic arm had coined, and the latter had no right to the terms, procedures of modern medicine.
It should be noted that it is not the first time IMA and Ayurveda have been at friction. Earlier in October this year, IMA challenged the government’s official protocol released by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for the prevention and cure of COVID.
The protocol listed dietary plans, yoga practice, yoga, and ayurvedic herbs such as Ashwagandha for the treatment of asymptomatic patients.
Coming down hard on the Union Health Minister, the IMA in its statement demanded the minister to come clean about the above claims. And if he can’t he is inflicting fraud on the gullible patients across the nation by calling placebos as drugs.
