The Karnataka government's proposal to appoint ayurveda doctors for night duty in the primary health centres (PHCs) across the state has come in for sharp criticism from various quarters on the plea that the proposal violates the Supreme Court order 2001 which states that ISM doctors would not be able to prescribe allopathy medicines in an emergency situation in the night.

Taking strong exception to the state government decision, Right to Information Awareness (RTIA) forum secretary Mahesh M said that if ayurveda doctors are hired for night duties in the PHCs, they will have no option but to prescribe and dispense allopathy medicines on emergency situations that arise in the night time. They have to perform all the duties of a regular MBBS doctor during the night. This will become a serious issue and violation of the law as for emergencies doctors usually prescribe allopathy drugs.

"While discharging his duties, the ayurveda doctor will have no option but to prescribe or dispense the modern medicines to the patients in the primary health centres. The issue is that prescribing/dispensing modern medicine by ayurvedic doctors is an offence punishable under Criminal Procedure Code according to the judgment of the Supreme Court," Mehesh said.

Reacting to the statement of the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister R Ashok, proposing to hire ayurveda doctors to man the PHCs in the night, Mahesh said the state government would definitely violate the Supreme Court orders passed in 2000 which stated that medical practitioners in the Indian System of Medicine (ISM) which included Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha and Unani would not be able to prescribe allopathy drugs. These doctors could only prescribe and dispense drug in their related specialization.

Although the government is keen to promote Ayurveda by introducing it as system of medicine for many ailments and making the doctors available for treatment, they should be aware of the Supreme Court Judgment on cross prescription of drugs, Mahesh said.

Sharply reacting to the proposal, Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association (KIMMA) secretary JSD Pani said, "It is impossible for the state government to hire the ayurveda doctors for night shift because it is a gross violation in medical practice."

The state government was keen to provide some fillip to the ISM sector by establishing a separate department with qualified team at PHCs. But the three-year old proposal has not yet been sent to the Centre. Like other states, there is no ISM department in the PHCs in Karnataka. There are dedicated Government Ayurveda Dispensaries (GADs) across the 27 districts in the state, which have facilities for hospitalisation. There are no night duty doctors here, he said.

The government's intention to hire ayurveda doctors to man PHCs might be because the allopathy doctors are refusing to perform night shifts. Even rural postings are rejected by the allopathy doctors and adjusted with medical departments only to retain urban locations. Since the 2,175 PHCs are facing acute shortage of medical expertise at night, following reluctance from allopathy doctors, the state government is now looking at the possibility of inducting ayurveda doctors for night shift. This is next to impossible, the KIMMA secretary said.