Andhra: Ayurveda Practitioners With PG Degrees in Surgical Studies Can Now Perform Surgeries
New Delhi: Ayurvedic practitioners who have completed post-graduate courses in surgical studies and have "proper training" can perform operations independently in Andhra Pradesh now.
A report on The Hindu cites a press note from Andhra Pradesh health minister Satya Kumar Yadav, noting that the decision aligns with 2020 regulations aimed at integrating traditional Indian medicine with modern medical practices.
On November 20, 2020, as The Wire had noted then, the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body of the Ministry of AYUSH, issued an amendment to the Indian Medicine Central Council (PG Ayurveda Education) Regulations 2016. The amendment listed 58 surgical procedures that postgraduate students of Ayurvedic education in two branches – Shalya and Shalakya – are to be formally trained in and which they can practice independently afterward.
The Indian Medical Association – India’s largest association of medical doctors – had been among those to oppose this move, calling it an attempt to create a new and illegitimate ‘mixopathy’, as well as calling the CCIM’s ways “uncivil” and “foul”.
Also read: For Sick Indians, Modi Government's Ayurvedic 'Surgery' Order is the Unkindest Cut
Criticism for this hybrid venture has been consistent.
Writing for The Wire, Vasudevan Mukunth had held that such efforts can be disastrous: "This is why appeals to the label of science – without any parallel efforts to develop alternative methods of validation – are nothing but attempts to take a shortcut to credibility, credibility that is otherwise unattainable."
In Andhra Pradesh, "trained" Ayurveda practitioners can now perform 39 Shalya Tantra or general surgery procedures and 19 Shalakya Tantra procedures for diseases of eye, ear, nose, throat, head, oro-dentistry. The Hindu report notes that some of these surgeries include procedures related to infectious diseases, removal of damaged tissues caused by accidents, treatment of wounds and suturing, treatment for piles and anal fissures, removal of cysts, cataracts, and tumours, muscle-related treatments, and skin grafting procedures.
The state government also plans to introduce relevant PG courses at the Vijayawada Ayurvedic College and ensure adequate infrastructure, operation theatres and equipment to support quality training.
Minister Yadav said in the press release that he held discussions with AYUSH department director K. Dinesh Kumar before arriving at this decision.
Andhra Pradesh is ruled by the Telugu Desam Party, which is in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has pushed Ayurveda as a model of medical treatment.
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