Disgusted by its persistent failure to recruit and station Allopathic Medical Officers in remote areas, the Uttarakhand Government is contemplating to allow Ayurvedic doctors to practise the modern — read Allopathic — system of medicines in a limited way. Interestingly, the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Government of India has given its clearance to the State on the issue.
The top officials of health department met at secretariat on Thursday and discussed the matter of integrating the Indian System of Medicine (ISM) qualified doctors to the mainstream and pool such doctors with allopathic doctors to enhance the availability of doctors and outreach of health care services, specially in the remote areas.
The meeting was chaired by the Principal Secretary Medical Health and Ayush, Om Prakash. The Director General of Medical Health, Dr GS Joshi informed The Pioneer that it was decided that the opinion of Medical Council of India (MCI) should be taken on the issue.
The health department is planning to impart training on Allopathic medicines to the Ayush doctors before allowing them to treat the patients in the allopathic system. The department is also dwelling on the extent of which it should allow the Ayush doctors to use the allopathic system of medicines to treat the patients.
The Medical health department of the state is reeling under severe shortage of Medical officers as more than 75 per cent of total posts of Medical Officers are lying vacant. The department tried hard to attract doctors to the state services but it failed miserably. The condition of the remote and mountainous areas is so dismal that almost all the Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) there are on verge of being closed due to absence of doctors. Many such centers are being run by the Ayush and homeopathic doctors stationed there with the help of pharmacist and other paramedics. Interestingly in the Ayush and Ayush Education department the number of posts of ayurvedic doctors is almost full.
The department has 753 Medical Officers (Ayush) who are serving in all parts of the state. The state government is now hoping that these doctors after some training would be able to fill the vaccum caused by the absence of allopathic doctors.
The Government's intention however has not gone well with the allopathic doctors. One such doctor said that a wrong precedence would be set if the ISM doctors are allowed to treat patients like allopathic doctors. The Ayush doctors, however, are of the opinion that there is nothing wrong in allowing them to treat patients using modern methods as they are competent enough for it.