The Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Graduates Association (TNSMGA) has in a memorandum to the chief minister demanded that the Ayush wings attached with the public health centres (PHCs) should be converted into health centres on regular basis with full time medical and para medical staffs.

Currently the 475 NRHM Ayush wings are operating on alternate days and the doctors are working on daily contract basis. Each centre, either Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani or Homoeopathy, has only one doctor and no para medical staff has been assigned work in majority of the centres. The Ayush centres are working only 12 days in a month, the memorandum says.

Dr K Rajasekharan, general secretary of TNSMGA told Pharmabiz that in all these Ayush wings classical treatments like varma treatment, massage treatment, steam bath, sand bath, panchakarma, njavarakkizhi, dhaara etc. are unable to be provided due to lack of facilities and staffs. No centre has been provided with any medical equipment or other devices for better healthcare services. He said his association will further approach the government demanding opening of Ayush wings in all the PHC s in Tamil Nadu.

“Since the Ayush wings are functioning only on three days in a week, these healthcare facilities do not provide adequate benefits to the patients. Even the doctors are unable to follow the health conditions of their patients and those who visit the hospitals become reluctant to visit it again. The situation dissatisfies the contract doctors,” Dr Rajasekharan said. He added that several states in India were running NRHM Ayush wings on regular basis and the people were benefited by it. In Tamil Nadu, the centres are working only on part time basis.

The association also wanted the government to implement the NRHM plan in full scale in order to develop the Ayush system in the state. As per the plan report, from 2005 to 2012 only 475 centres have been opened and appointed the same number of doctors. From 9 am to 4 pm one doctor alone has to do all the work in the hospitals including attending of patients. Doing all the paper work, keeping the stock registers and procurement of drugs are all falling on the shoulders of the doctors. According to the doctor, each centre is visited by a minimum of one hundred out patients per day.

In Tamil Nadu there are 1580 public health centres are working in the rural areas, out of this state government sponsored combined hospitals, allopathy and Siddha, are working in 450 places. In these co-located centres, in the Ayush wing the services of doctors and paramedical staffs are available. But in the case of NRHM Ayush wings, no para medical or additional medical staff is available, says Dr Rajsekharan.