Doctors protest new rule

AROUND a million doctors in India went on a day-long strike last Friday (11) amid the coronavirus pandemic to protest against a new federal government rule that allows practitioners of the traditional science of Ayurveda to perform minor surgeries.

Thousands of non-critical medical operations and routine consultations across the country were set to be disrupted as the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the umbrella body for all conventional doctors and surgeons, declared a decision to suspend work for 12 hours.

“All non-essential consultations and surgeries from morning until evening on Friday were suspended, “said Rajan Sharma, the head of IMA, adding that the strike would not affect treatment to Covid-19 patients.

“The government’s decision to bring in a rule that allows practitioners in specified streams of Ayurveda to be trained to perform surgical procedures trivialises the medical profession,” said Sharma.

Last month, the government introduced a rule that allowed post-graduate practitioners of Ayurveda to perform certain surgeries. The notification listed 39 general surgery procedures and around 19 procedures involving the eye, ear, nose and throat.