The situation of the hospital attached with the Siddha Central Research Institute (SCRI) in Chennai remains the same despite a separate ministry for Ayush was formed at the Centre. The hospital is struggling to manage its day to day operations, mainly because of shortage of doctors and non-availability of essential medicines.
The evening services at the outpatient ward (OPD) of the hospital were stopped in July 2013 citing reason that there was shortage of doctors to be assigned for night duty. The situation is continuing even today despite adequate support is given to Ayush sector by the Central government. Currently, the number of doctors attending patients in various departments is less than ten, vacant posts are over twenty, according to reliable sources from the hospital.
Patients coming into the hospital and the general public have wanted the minister of Ayush, Shripad Yesso Naik, to intervene in the matter for an immediate solution.
According to sources, though government of India has accorded sanction to fill up the vacant posts of doctors, no step has been taken so far to recruit doctors and restore the evening services. It is alleged that since hospitals attached with other councils do not have evening services in their OP wards, Siddha council is also following the same method.
SCRI Chennai is the centre of speciality treatments in Siddha, the only one in the country. Patients with diseases of diabetes, sinusitis, vitiligo etc are admitted in the institute where, it is said that researches are going on to treat them. But no apparent result is coming out from the research units to contain any of the diseases though timely financial aids are availed.
SCRI is operating under the Central Council of Research in Siddha (CCRS) which was formed in 2010 after the bifurcation of CCRAS. The hospital attached to the SCRI was started in 1973 as a research wing. Under the ministry of Ayush, there are central councils for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homoeopathy and Yoga and Naturopathy. Except CCRS, all other councils are headquartered in New Delhi and working smoothly under the direct control of the ministry officials. In Chennai, the Siddha Research Council is working under a director general with the support of a few officers. The siddha doctors community in the state as a whole wants the ministry of Ayush to shift the headquarter office from Chennai to New Delhi in order to get an equal status with other councils. But the demand is fallen on deaf ears, it is alleged.
In addition to the central institute, there are four peripheral units under the Siddha research council. They are Siddha Regional Research Institute (SRRI) in Pondicherry, Siddha Medicinal Plants Garden (SMPG) at Mettur, Siddha Central Research Unit (SCRU) at Palayamkottai and Siddha Regional Research Institute (SRRI) in Thiruvananthapuram.