Allopathy-ayurveda tussle intensifies

Thiruvananthapuram: Doctors on either side of the divide (modern medicine and ayurveda/homeo medicine) look like sharpening their tussle in the light of the surgery training planned for ayurveda and homeopathy students.

Doctors in modern medicine and their professional body, Indian Medical Association (IMA) have come out with opposition against the move. But Ayurveda Medical Association atributes the issue to the misgivings of modern medicine (allopathy in common parlance) practitioners.

At issue most recently is the order released by Additional Chief Secretary that grants permission to students of Ayush branch for training in surgery, gynecology and post-mortem. IMA and Kerala Government Medical Officers' Association (KGMOA) are of the stand that this is unacceptable.

Allopathy doctors argue that giving a window of a short term of observation and training to those who have not done a course in modern medicine, will result in creating combo doctors - an argument which the Ayurveda Medical Association of India terms as a challenge to the rule of law in the country. For, they point out that in the syllabus introduced by the Central Government since 1979, training has been prescribed for ayurveda students in surgery and gynecology.

In 2015, the government rescinded the order which had barred ayurveda house surgeons from training in gynecology. Allopathy doctors' organization moved the high court against this, but the Division Bench of the court ordered that the training could continue.

But allopathy doctors aver that there is another court order superseding this. They also point out that if ayurveda students are given training or permission for observation bypassing norms and if certificates are issued by those giving training, the registration of such doctors with the Medical Council will get cancelled. The government order states that they be given observation opportunity for just two or three days. IMA avers that if they use a certificate obtained through such a short period of observation they may eventually start giving treatment to patients including surgery.

Ayurveda camp dismisses this as meaningless, saying that ayurveda trainees never get trained in surgery, but instead refer surgery cases to allopathy doctors. They also cite the example that sometimes there arise acute emergencies in remote/hardship areas, when their doctors have to conduct deliveries, but ayurveda doctors never run maternity hospitals.