Even as the BJP government in the Centre takes all efforts to promote Indian System of Medicines (ISM), especially Ayurveda, many of the government Ayurveda hospitals and dispensaries in Kerala are working without sufficient medical and para-medical staff.

Primarily, shortage of nurses, therapists (masseurs) and pharmacists is the major factor that affects the operations of the traditional healthcare centres. No hospital, either in the district level or in the taluka level, has a post of Resident Medical Officer in the ISM sector.

Across the state, 36 dispensaries at the panchayath levels, where many patients visit every day for ready-made ‘kashayams’ and other medicines, have no pharmacists either to dispense or to compound the drugs. Usually, kashayams are prepared every day at the dispensaries and dispensed to the patients. This job is supposed to be carried out by pharmacists at the dispensaries. In their absence, the doctors at the hospitals do prepare the kashayam and dispense to their patients.

According to sources from the ISM department, due to lack of pharmacists, kashayams are not often prepared in several dispensaries, but bringing bottles of the product from district hospitals and distributed to the OP wards. Patients prefer to receive the ready-made product as it is said to be having more quality and efficacy. In dispensaries where patients’ flow is huge, the medical officers themselves cook the kashayams in order to run the pharmacies.

All over Kerala, there are 815 Ayurveda dispensaries and 127 hospitals working under the ISM department.

When contacted, Dr. Anila Jacob, director of the department of Indian System of Medicines, said her office has given a proposal to the state government to fill up the existing vacancies of therapists, nurses, pharmacists and doctors. Besides, special demands from the department was also made to the government for sanction of 36 posts of pharmacists, 120 therapists, 56 nurses and 127 RMOs in the hospitals.

The director expressed hope that the government would consider the proposal positively as the department for Ayush was going to be started soon.

Out of the 127 Ayurveda hospitals, 56 hospitals are having a bed strength of 10 and five hospitals with one hundred bed facilities. The department’s first Sports Hospital will be opened in Thrissur shortly.