Mumbai hospitals in no hurry to draft 'ayurveda surgeons'

The Central government's controversial decision of allowing Ayurvedic doctors to train and legally perform certain surgeries has been a bitter pill to swallow for many in the healthcare sector. While the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had publicly condemned the move, private hospitals in the city too are reluctant to hire or allow Ayurvedic doctors to perform surgical procedures on their patients.

Based on the notification issued by the government last week, post-graduate students of Ayurveda will now be trained and allowed to perform 58 types of procedures involving general surgery, ophthalmology, ENT (ears, nose and throat), dental and orthopaedic surgery. Earlier this week, IMA slammed the decision and criticised the Central Council of Indian Medicine, the regulatory body for the study and practice of Ayurveda in India, for allowing its practitioners to perform surgeries.

'Won't allow it'

Management of leading hospitals in the city stated that they don't plan to hire Ayurvedic doctors or allow them perform surgical procedures anytime soon. Ajaykumar Pande, vice president of Lilavati hospital said that hiring Ayurvedic doctors was not a part of the hospital's policies. "There are set standards for doctors who are allowed to perform surgeries. As a part of our policy, only experts in the field will be allowed to do it," he said. Santosh Shetty, chief operating officer of Kokilaben Hospital said that private hospitals had to adhere to the regulations of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers, which bars AYUSH graduates from practising allopathic medicine. "We don't offer Ayurveda at the hospital and at this time, we are not recruiting doctors of alternative medicine since they have been trained on a different system of medicine. There is a bit of a paradox since the NABH is also auditing hospitals to see whether alternative medicine doctors are working in ICUs," he added.

Private hospitals have said only experts in the field are allowed to perform surgeries. Pic/Istock

Dr Aniruddh Ambekar, CEO of Lifeline Medicare Hospitals is of the opinion that Ayurvedic doctors lack adequate training as compared to what MBBS students undergo. "While the courses are similar at the beginning, from third year onwards the specialities emerge. To become surgeons, they need another three to five years of hands-on training before they can be allowed to perform surgeries. Maybe five to 10 years down the line if they have the experience then there is a chance that they may be hired in private hospitals. Else they should pursue an education in modern medicine," he said.

'Unethical decision'

Apart from IMA, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has taken a stand against this decision as well. Dr Satish Tandale, vice-president of Central MARD, said, "The government should think before they take such decisions since Ayurvedic doctors need the kind of training that allopathic doctors have. This decision is unethical and it's putting patients at risk." Dr Tandale added that after an internal meeting expected to take place in a day or two, they would approach the chief minister against the notification.

'Not underqualified'

Defending the government's decision, Dr Anil Bajare, general secretary of the National Integrated Medical Association (Maharashtra) argued that the graduates of Indian System of Medicine (study of alternative medicine like Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani) are not underqualified. "We have been advocating for integrated medicine where students of alternative medicine can work with those studying modern medicine. There are limitations in both fields of medicine but they both treat the human body," he said.

Dr Bajare added that Ayurvedic doctors had been carrying out surgeries for ENT, hernia, removal of appendix and c-sections since a very long time. "Ayurvedic doctors also have to go through competitive exams and they should be hired by all hospitals. While the top hospitals may not hire them, there are other hospitals that hire ISM graduates," he said.

58
No. of the various types of surgeries that have been allowed by Ayurveda doctors as mentioned in a government notice

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