The IMA said its members and modern medicine doctors have started a relay hunger strike on Monday at more than 50 locations across the country in protest against the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) notification allowing Ayurveda postgraduate practitioners to conduct general surgical procedures.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) said the new procedure would lead to “mixopathy”
IMA National President, Secretary-General and other IMA leaders will visit different locations throughout the country to strengthen the public safety movement, the doctor’s body said in a statement.
The relay strike will continue until February 14. Women doctors will be leading a nationwide hunger strike on February 7.
The IMA opposes the notification by the CCIM, a statutory body under the AYUSH Ministry, authorizing postgraduate practitioners in specified streams of Ayurveda to be qualified to perform surgical procedures such as excisions of benign tumours, gangrene amputation, nasal and cataract surgery, according to the statement.
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“IMA demands immediate withdrawal of the said impractical, unscientific and unethical notification,” he added.
All speciality associations around the country have joined the strike through the Federation of Medical Associations under the aegis of IMA. The Dental Association has also joined this national movement, the statement said.
The IMA also said it would release awareness posters and banners across the country.
“All IMA Members shall update their Members of Parliament and their MLAs on the true picture of the notification and integration policy,” said the document.
“The IMA will also give its rationale to all state governments. In the context of the Save People Movement, all NGOs will be updated with key issues,” he added.
Internationally, the IMA shall notify various organisations from different countries of this non-scientific notice. The global voice of modern medicine echoes the feelings of the Indian Medical Association and all its members, the statement said.
The IMA has asked its Medical Students’ Network (MSN), Junior Doctors’ Network (JDN), IMA Women’s Wing, IMA Hospital Board, in-service physicians, medical colleges to join in the strike.
In addition, the recent policy tilt, as demonstrated by the medical pluralism promoted by the National Education Policy 2020 and the four NITI Aayog Committees for the Official Integration of Medical Education, Practice, Public Health and Administration Systems, as well as research on the ‘One Nation-One System’ policy, will ring the death knell of all medical systems as a policy of ‘One Nation-One System.’
