1,500 of 1 lakh Ayush doctors reported for Covid-19 duty in Maharashtra

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has criticised the state health department for not taking action against Ayush (Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has criticised the state health department for not taking action against Ayush (Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy) doctors who are not reporting for Covid-19 duty.

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Despite Ayush doctors being called upon to join the medical response to Covid-19 since April, only around 1,500 Ayush doctors have reported for Covid-19 duty. Of these, 500 have been posted at various Covid-19 care centres (CCC) in Mumbai to take care of asymptomatic individuals and patients with mild to moderate symptoms. “So far, we have a list of 1,500 Ayush doctors who have been stationed all across the state on Covid duty,” said Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, secretary of medical education and drug department (MEDD).

Data from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) shows that there are more than 90,000 registered allopathy doctors in the state. However, to provide treatment and care to growing number of patients, state health officials said more are needed as many doctors are above 55 years old and therefore may not be assigned to Covid-19 duty.

To arrange for additional doctors, the state government in April launched an online curriculum for Covid-19 care, designed by All India Institute of Medical Sciences, for Ayush doctors. The training imparted basic knowledge on handling Covid-19 patients through video and those that cleared the video-led course and its online examination, were given a certificate.

Kuldeep Kohli, director of Ayush in Maharashtra, said 1 lakh registered Ayush doctors opted for the online test. “As requested, their names have been sent to DMER [Directorate of Medical Education and Research]. After that, we don’t know how many have been posted on Covid-duty. Our responsibility was to send them the list of qualified doctors,” said Kohli.

Dr Avinash Bondewe, president of IMA, Maharashtra, said, “In May, the medical education department stated their requirement of 25,000 doctors to handle Covid-19 cases. We suggested that Ayush doctors be included. But we (allopathic doctors) are now being blamed for shortage of doctors.”

Last month, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) issued a circular that mad 15 days of Covid-duty mandatory for registered allopathy doctors. The medical education department also threatened to cancel licenses of doctors who violate the directive. “We had to face the heat and criticism from doctors for the circular. But what has the Ayush department done to make their doctors work during the pandemic?” said Dr Shivkumar Utture, chairman of MMC.

Despite repeated calls, Dr TP Lahane, director of DMER, and Union minister of state for Ayush Shripad Naik, did not respond to calls from HT.