The Siddha medical practitioners in the government sector in Tamil Nadu have urged the state finance ministry to provide considerable focus on Ayush sector and the traditional drug industry while allocating funds, especially to boost Siddha system which dominates in the state.

In a memorandum given to state finance minister O Panneerselvam, who will present the budget for the next fiscal in the Assembly on March 15, the Tamil Nadu Siddha Doctors Association (TNSIDA) has wanted the minister to consider measures to streamline the functioning of Siddha hospitals under the department of Indian Systems and allocate more funds for medicines’ availability in all centres.

“All Siddha health centres are struggling for want of medicines for the last several years. The government is supplying only a few number of medicines listed in the essential drug list (EDL), hence the doctors are unable to provide proper medication to the OP and IP patients of the 1058 ayush hospitals”, said Dr. P Swaminathan, secretary of TNSIDA.

According to reports, last week due to shortage of medicines, patients with cold and diarrhoea admitted in the IP ward and those visited in the OP ward of the government Siddha medical college at Annanagar in Chennai were given hot water with medicines to treat their diseases. Patients suffering from other diseases were given prescriptions to buy medicines from outside.

Responding to the issue, Dr. P Parthiban, joint director of Indian Medicines, told Pharmabiz that with the request from the medical superintendent, government has sanctioned a little amount by which the essential medicines have been purchased and supplied to the pharmacies. For a permanent solution, the nodal agency, TAMPCOL, which supplies medicines to the hospitals, will be assigned to undertake tender process for supply. Now 60 types of medicines in Siddha, 30 kinds from Ayurveda and 25 categories of Unani drugs are available in the medical college pharmacy at the Annanagar hospital, he said.

In 2015-16, the government had allocated Rs.18 crores for Siddha medicines for all the hospitals, whereas it was reduced to Rs.9 crore for 2016-17. In the present budget, Dr. Swaminathan said, his association has wanted government to enhance the amount for medicine category to Rs.40 crore for sufficient availability of all ayush medicines in the one thousand plus hospitals.

Pointing out various shortages of facilities in the health sector, the doctors association has made another demand that Siddha wings should be established in all PHCs. Currently, out of the total 1600 primary health centres, only 450 has full time Siddha wing. Additionally, 300 units are working under National Health Mission scheme. The government must start more Siddha dispensaries or set up Siddha wings in the remaining PHCs in order to promote the system.

In the educational sector of the Ayush, Tamil Nadu has total six government medical colleges, two for Siddha (Chennai & Palayamkottai), one for Homoeopathty (Thirumangalam), one for Unani (Chennai), one for Yoga & Naturopathy (Chennai) and one for Ayurveda (Kanyakumari). According to TNSIDA, the educational sector lacks so many facilities of growth including man power, medicine, laboratory, research & development, medicinal plant farms, etc. Dr. Swaminathan said several representations were given to the government for a well-equipped lab, but still it is in the paper only.