1 lakh Maharashtra doctors to take part in IMA strike today

MUMBAI/NAGPUR: Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for closure of nonemergency medical services nationwide on Friday to protest against a government notification allowing post-graduate ayurveda students to perform 58 surgeries from allopathy. The body said clinics, dispensaries and OPDs will be shut from 6am to 6pm.
Around 110,000 doctors registered with Maharashtra Medical Council, including 45,000 from IMA are likely to participate. The association said emergency services will continue. “Covid hospitals, ICUs, accident & trauma services, maternity homes and neonatal ICUs will work,” IMA stated.
A notification on November 20 by Central Council of Indian Medicine, which regulates ayurveda education, stated ayurveda graduates with postgraduate education will be trained in 58 surgeries from modern medicine. “The notification should be withdrawn. Instead of mixing branches of medicine, the government should promote research in each stream,” said Dr Avinash Bhondwe, IMA, president, Maharashtra.
“Most of these 58 surgeries are performed by super specialist surgeons. Many specifications in these subjects are not taught in BAMS curriculum of Ayurveda. So, it would be disastrous for the patients, if these surgeries are performed with half hazard knowledge,” said Dr Archana Kothari, president of Nagpur IMA.
“IMA isn’t against Ayurveda. Our contention is by such mixing of different pathies, it will be detrimental,” said Dr Sanjay Deshpande of IMA Maharashtra.
“Instead of mixing the different branches of medicine and creating a superficial mixopathy, the government should promote research in each pathies to making them useful,” said Dr Prashant Nikhade, former IMA Nagpur president.
‘Surgery’ triggers allergic reaction between ayurveda, allopathic docs
The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has directed all its members to write their graduation degree i.e. MBBS in bold letters on their letterheads, prescriptions, publicity material, identity cards, name plates and boards henceforth. This decision was taken to differentiate them from PG ayurveda doctors, whose degrees in medicine and surgery too have the same abbreviations like MD and MS. However, ayurveda doctors have refuted the claim made by the allopathy doctors. “PG degree holders in ayurveda specifically mention ‘ayurveda’ while writing their names,” said Dr Mohan Yende, coordinator of the National Integrated Medical Association (Nima). According to him, a doctor who has PG degree in Shalya (Surgery) writes ‘MS (Ayurveda)’ and so there is no confusion. He refuted the allegation that ayurveda doctors in rural areas don’t mention their stream before their names. Nima Nagpur president Dr Pankaj Bhoyar said ayurveda doctors have been performing surgeries since many years. MMC vice president Dr Vinky Rughwani said the MMC supports demand of modern medicine practitioners.