Allow treatment with ayurveda: Ayur doctors

KOCHI: Despite the health department being stretched for infrastructure and staff for treating patients at FLTCs, it has not utilized an equally qualified section of its own doctors and their system of medicine which is also recognized and registered by the state and the Centre.

Expressing their disappointment at being reduced to a status of managers rather than doctors, the Kerala state government ayurveda medical officers’ association has written to health minister K K Shailaja to allow them to treat patients with ayurveda medicines. “No doctor will keep a patient whose condition is showing a turn for the worse. Yet we are not allowed to treat patients. We have been posted to just check the pulse or BP which can be done by nursing attendants,” said Dr V J Sebby, general secretary, KSGAMOA.

The association said that doctors have been pulled off their duties at various Ayurveda clinics which were reaching out immunity booster ayurveda medicines to rural areas and among persons in home quarantine. “Even though there is no specific medicine to be given for Covid-19 except management and shifting to critical care if condition gets worse, there is a strong objection to appointing us as qualified medical officers,” said Dr Sebby.

“Instead of deploying us as managers or nodal officers with no treatment duty, allow us to function at ayurveda clinics and give medicines to those seeking it, thus trying to contain the spread of Covid-19. We are around 1,500 government ayurveda doctors in Kerala. Allow us to do our duty and treat patients with medicines that are prescribed by the government. Ensure supply of medicines under various schemes so that the immunity boosters will protect a good number of people who believe in the system,” he added.