IMA declares nationwide shutdown on Friday; know what medical services will be affected

A nationwide shutdown has been called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), the apex body of Indian doctors, has declared a nationwide shutdown on Friday. The call for the strike comes after the IMA strongly opposed the government’s move to allow the Ayurveda doctors to perform surgery.

The IMA has called for a strike on December 11 at 10,000 locations across the country to protest against the government notification listing surgeries that Ayurveda practitioners can perform. It announced that it will "withdraw all non-essential non-COVID medical services on December 11".

In this bandh, the closure of non-emergency services of all clinics, dispensaries, OPDs have been announced from 6 am-6 pm. However, all emergency services like COVID-19 hospitals, ICU, accident and trauma services, maternity homes, neonatal ICU will work as usual.

Calling it ‘mixopathy’, the IMA had earlier also threatened to withdraw all non-essential, non-Covid services in hospitals and hold demonstrations across the country on December 8. 

The government notification issued on 20 November listed 58 varieties of surgeries that postgraduate Ayurveda medical students must be “practically trained to acquaint with, as well as to independently perform”. 

The gazette notification issued by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory body under the AYUSH Ministry, listed 39 general surgery procedures and 19 other procedures, involving the eye, ear, nose and throat, by amending the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016.

These surgeries include general surgery, orthopedic, ophthalmology, ENT and dental surgeries. The IMA has criticised the move and questioned the competence of Ayurveda medical students to carry out these procedures. 

The term ‘mixopathy’, which doesn’t have a legal definition, is used to describe vital parts of modern medicine being mixed with Ayurveda or homeopathy. 

The IMA used the term in the current context of allowing Ayurveda postgraduates to perform the 58 surgeries.

While MBBS doctors have severely criticised the government move, Ayurveda doctors said they have been performing surgeries since decades, and in terms of competence, medical students of Ayurveda are very well-trained.

On December 11, about 35,000 doctors in Bihar will be on strike. They will see the treatment of the infected with emergency and coronavirus screening. Others will not participate in any medical services.