Strongly disagreeing with the growing demand for the inclusion of Ayush streams in the proposed National Commission for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH), the Chennai-based Centre for Traditional Medicines and Research (CTMR) has said that the Ayush streams should not be incorporated in the NCHRH as it is being created to regulate the regulators like MCI, PCI, NCI, DCI etc, which have witnessed gross mismanagement and corruption during the last some years. CTMR is an organisation giving training and guidance for Siddha practitioners.

In an exclusive interview with Pharmabiz, the secretary of the Centre, Dr T Thirunarayanan said, “There is already a proposal for creating a separate National Commission for Human Resources in Ayush which is included in the 12th five-year plan. NCHRH is primarily an umbrella organization of regulatory bodies such as medical council, pharmacy council, nursing council and other para-medicals based on bio-medicine approach. A separate commission for Ayush human resources--medical, panchakarma therapist, Ayush pharmacist, Ayush nursing etc- is needed. If we are within the NCHRH, we will not get the desired focus and Ayush will be the last priority area in such a combined commission.”

Dr Thirunarayanan, who is also a member of the working group of Ayush for 12th Five Year Plan, said CTMR wanted the parliamentary committee to expedite the formation of NCHRH in Ayush, and added that the Commission would not be a regulatory body but a facilitating body for establishing the best standards in Ayush education, management and services. The ISM sector will be better off when it comes under a separate commission. But, this does not mean that the Ayush sector does not want to be collocated or be part of the mainstream, he maintained.

When asked whether the exclusion of Ayush would adversely affect the growth and promotion of Siddha system in Tamil Nadu or in the national level, the doctor said it has nothing to do with collocation of Ayush services in hospitals or primary health centres. The separate commission will in fact help enhance education, standards and Ayush services, he added.

“Today Ayush has more number of colleges than bio-medicine. But, quality is not as desired. If bio-medicine and Ayush are there under the same commission, the chance for becoming one against the other is higher, and finally the big brother will try to dominate Ayush,” the Siddha trainer opined.

To another query if any demand for inclusion of Ayush has been made by any ISM organisation in Tamil Nadu, he said so far no organisation in his state has raised such a demand. Further he said the demand of the Ayurveda community in Kerala is not justifiable or legitimate as they forget the history and growth of traditional medicines in India and the formation of research councils like ICMR, CCRIM, CCRAS/CCRUM -split- CCR-AYURVEDA and CCR-SIDDHA. He clarified that the exclusion of Ayush streams would not in any way degenerate the growth of the country’s traditional methods of treatment.

In reply to the demand of Ayush industry in Kerala, the CTMR secretary said that if one umbrella Commission is constituted instead of a separate one, within a short span of time, the same team will demand for separation. He asked whether the Ayush physicians are willing to accept the Schedule M norms for drug manufacturing or whether they would follow the international drug laws or GCP guidelines to get Ayush drug licence. According to him, the Ayush hospitals would not accept the same norms for accreditation as laid out for bio-medicine hospitals.

When the news about the support of private allopathic doctors demanding ISM sector to be part of NCHRH, Dr Thirunarayanan asked whether they would accept the chairman or co-chairman of Ayush to head the Commission. He said there is no need of outside support for Ayush.