Centre to allow PG Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries

Centre to allow PG Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

22.11.2020

In a move that has sent shock waves in the medical community, the government has brought out a notification that will allow Ayurveda doctors to be trained and legally allowed to perform a variety of general surgical, ENT, ophthalmology, ortho and dental procedures.

However, the president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine said that these surgeries have been going on in ayurveda institutes and hospitals for more than 25 years and that the notification was merely to clarify that it is legal. The notification dated November 19 listed the procedures that will be included in the post-graduate training of Ayurveda doctors by amending the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016. It stated that the amendments were being made with the sanction of the central government.

During the period of study, post-graduate scholars of Shalya tantra (general surgery) and Shalakya tantra (surgeries of the ear, nose, throat, head and eye) will be practically trained to perform various surgical procedures independently.

PG Ayurveda docs to be trained to do fairly advanced op

General surgical procedures include amputation of gangrene, skin grafting, laparotomy (opening up of the abdomen), many advanced gastro-intestinal surgeries, all hernia surgeries. Under Shalakya tantra they will be trained to do fairly advanced ophthalmic surgeries such as iris prolapse surgery, squint surgery, cataract surgeries of all kinds including phacoemulsification, rhinoplasty, tonsillectomy and tooth extraction and root canal treatment in dental surgery.

“Postgraduate courses in surgery, ENT and ophthalmology have been there in ayurved since 20-25 years and we have always had surgical OPDs. Many professors who taught these surgeries in ayurveda have even retired. That’s how old it is. In our minimum standard regulations required for teaching hospitals of colleges with postgraduate seats we specify that they should have operation theatres along with gynaecologists and anaesthetists from modern medicine on their rolls. But often our surgeons faced questions from their anaesthetists about whether they were legally permitted to do a particular procedure. No one had looked into the legality of what has been happening for decades. So, after consultation with the ministry and Niti Aayog, it was decided to put it down in writing to make it clear that what is already being done is legal,” explained Dr Jayant Deopujari the president of CCIM.

A former member of the Central Council of Indian Medicine pointed out that this was merely an expansion of what was already allowed by a notification on post graduate education in ayurveda issued in 2016.

Full report on www.toi.in