NMC member writes to chief, criticises nod to Ayurveda doctors to perform surgeries

National Medical Commission (NMC) member Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh has written to its chairman Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma, protesting against the permission to Ayurveda graduates to perform different surgical procedures.

In his letter dated November 28, released to the media on Monday by the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr Singh urged Dr Sharma to “consider the gravity of the matter and rectify the above decision”.

“You being an ENT surgeon know it well that performing cataract surgery is not Ayurvedic graduates domain. Even other surgeries need proper training, expertise, infrastructure and a surgical setup. Most of them need anesthesia, which is delivered by qualified doctors. You know about the scarcity of anesthetists in India. Under the circumstances, permitting Ayurvedic graduates for surgery is detrimental to public health,” said Dr Singh in his letter.

He called for a “proper consultation and consideration by all NMC members in an actual emergency meeting (not virtual)”.

The IMA-Bihar, meanwhile, praised Singh for the bold step he had taken to decry the recent guidelines to allow Ayurvedic practitioners to perform certain surgeries.

It is well known that none of the Ayurvedic medical colleges have facility to teach and train its graduates about surgery and they were not doing them in college. Under the circumstances, it will be harmful to the people if an “untrained and uneducated” Ayurvedic graduate performs various surgical procedures, IMA-Bihar secretary Dr Sunil Kumar said in a statement issued on Monday.

“All the doctors are now optimistic that there will be a relook into this aspect and proper rectification in the above clause will be done at the earliest,” he added.