Even though the Drug Control Cell (DCC) of the erstwhile Department of Ayush (DoA) under the Union ministry of health had prepared a comprehensive list of essential drugs (EDL) for procurement of drugs for each hospital under Ayush streams, the list does not find any takers under the Indian systems in Tamil Nadu, it is learnt.

Besides, the EDL hardly finds any significance among the authorities, which is evident from that fact that even 10% of the total number of the listed drugs is not supplied to the peripheral hospitals by the government. The EDL was published in 2013, and it was an initiative from the previous ayush department to provide a guiding tool for the procurement agencies to fulfill the supply of Siddha medicines in all dispensaries, PHCs and hospitals.

Although the state department of health makes tall claims of providing all drugs free of cost to the patients, the 450 Siddha hospitals and 300 NRHM centres have around 20 medicines, which is less than 10% of the total number of drugs listed in the EDL. The list contains 302 drugs, which are mandatory for all the pharmacies to stock always.

“All the peripheral Siddha hospitals have less than 10% of the listed medicines available in their pharmacies. No hospital does have adequate number of essential drugs prescribed under the Essential Drug List, same situation is in the two medical colleges also”, said a senior Siddha medical officer working in Madurai.

Since Siddha system under the ayush streams dominates in Tamil Nadu and most of the traditional health centres are for the same category, the essential drug list of Siddha assumes importance mostly in Tamil Nadu. The EDL was drafted by experts from Tamil Nadu and those who participated in the discussion while preparing the list were also from the state only.

According to sources, there is no healthy endeavor from the state department of Indian Systems of Medicine in Chennai to streamline drug supplies in the Siddha hospitals which are all facing acute shortage of drugs. The government agency to supply medicines to public health centres is Tamil Nadu Medicinal Plant Farms & Herbal Medicine Corporation Limited (TAMPCOL), but its inventory has the stock of around 50 medicines, and that too occasionally. It is alleged by stakeholders that no constructive effort is taken by the authorities for a smooth procurement and supply of medicines as per the drug list prepared by the central ayush department.

While speaking to Pharmabiz about the pathetic situation of Siddha hospitals, one doctor said in anonymity that till two years ago, the government used to allot Rs.5 lakh for every quarter to purchase medicines from TAMPCOL for a district hospital. But last year, the amount was reduced to Rs.90,000. So, it is unable to provide the minimum number of medicines to the patients visiting each hospital. One district hospital usually gets 2,000 patients in the OP ward, he said.