The Directorate of Indian System of Medicine in Tamil Nadu will launch two medicines to contain the spread of swine flu on October 23, as part of a seminar being organized by the Department of Ayush. Out of the two medicines, one medicine is from the Siddha branch of ISM and another is from Homoeopathy branch, said G A Rajkumar, principal secretary and director of ISM, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Regarding efficacy of the drugs, the director said those were administered to some patients and proved their strength to contain the pandemic influenza.

About the seminar, Rajkumar said that it was meant to emphasise the need to integrate the modern Allopathic system with the traditional Indian System of Medicine (Ayush), so as to combat successfully the newly arrived health hazards like chikkungunya, swine flu and dengue fever. He said the National Health Policy of 1983 and the National Policy on Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy-2002 envisaged integration of Ayush with the modern systems of medicines. He said by utilizing the modern diagnostic procedures, the ISM with its fantastic healing effects can bring about more and speedy results.

Mainstreaming of Ayush is also one of the strategies envisaged under National Rural Health Mission with an objective to improve outreach and quality of health delivery in rural areas. The aim of integration of Ayush in the healthcare infrastructure is to bring about an architectural correction and re-inforce the existing Public Health Care Delivery systems to facilitate the use of natural, safe and friendly remedies which are time tested, accessible and affordable, he said.

M R K Paneerselvam, the minister of Health and Family welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu will inaugurate the seminar, which will be held at the University of Madras, Chennai on Friday, October 23.

V K Subburaju, principal secretary, Health &FW, Tamil Nadu, TMT Anita Das, former Secretary Ayush, GoI, S K Panda, joint secretary, Dept of Ayush, G A Rajkumar, Girija Vaidyanathan, project director- NRHM, S Vijayakumar, special secretary, TN Health System Projects, G N Sreekantaiah, director, Ayush, Karnataka, Dr M A Kumar, deputy advisor, Ayush, New Delhi, Dr S A Pasha, Ayush, Dr C Nayak, director general, CCRH, New Delhi, Dr Khalid Siddique, DG-CCRH-Unani, Dr K Manickavasam. National Institute of Siddha, Dr S Vnayagam, director-medical education, Chennai, Dr Nandagopalasamy, director-medical & rural health services, Chennai, Dr Elango, director, DPH, Dr K Ganapathyraman, director, CRI-Siddha and Dr A Ramalingam, president, Impcops. In addition to the above dignitaries, all the Ayurveda, Siddha, Yoga, Unani and Homoeopathy doctors of Tamil Nadu will attend the seminar.

In the press meet, the principal secretary, ISM Tamil Nadu said, under the NRHM scheme all the PHCs and CHCs in the state will provide Ayush facilities and the patients come in the hospital can opt for any system of treatment that he likes. In Tamil Nadu, more than 30 hospitals have been identified to implement this scheme. For this, the Ayush manpower will be arranged either by relocation of ISM doctors from the existing dispensaries which do not have own buildings, or from contractual hiring of Ayush doctors with NHRM funds.

When asked what support the state ISM department has provided for promoting the herbal medicine (Ayusrem) invented by the herbal sciences department of Madras University, he said the department would do every kind of help if any herbal medicine is found positive.

Rajkumar further said the ISM Directorate plans to start a two year diploma course in Integrated Pharmacy for the creation of Pharmacists exclusively in Ayush hospitals and a nursing course on Ayush syllabus soon.