The Rajya Sabha Member from Chennai, T K Rengarajan has urged the health ministry of Tamil Nadu to take immediate steps to ensure adequate supplies of medicines to the Ayush hospitals across the state.

MP's call is in response to the news report appeared in Pharmabiz that the state’s Ayush hospitals are running out of medicines. He said that some people with vested interest are deliberately making attempts to starve the Ayush hospitals of the required drugs with an ulterior motive to keep these systems of treatment away from the public.

He said the Ayush district hospitals, especially those of Siddha system, where poor patients throng during these days of severe winter with complaints of asthma, cold, fever, arthritis, etc, are being turned away for want of medicines. He said it is condemnable that the government hospitals under Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani are denied of essential drugs. According to Rengarajan, the Indian system of treatment is unique in the world because of various reasons and there exists a harmony among the various systems of medicines and patients are at their liberty to choose the system which they feel suit them the best.

When contacted, V K Subburaju, the principal secretary of health and family welfare, Tamil Nadu, said he will look into the matter seriously and immediate action will be taken.

The supply of medicines to the Siddha hospitals is provided by the government owned company, Tamil Nadu Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation Limited, (Tampcol). But for the last six months its supply has become highly irregular because of several reasons. Whereas, additional supplies are done by one private company on contractual service, which is also not delivering the medicines on time, doctors of district and taluk hospitals said when Pharmabiz contacted them.

The most moving and common medicine, Pinta Thailam, is not available in any hospital in the state. It has to be supplied by Tampcol and meant for treating arthritis and body pain. But its supplies to hospitals under NRHM have become restricted.