If there are certain doubts about the safety of the patient, the apprehension needs to be addressed.
The government has issued a notification which authorises post-graduate practitioners in specified streams of Ayurveda to be trained to perform surgical procedures such as excisions of benign tumours, amputation of gangrene, nasal and cataract surgeries.
The notification by the Central Council of Indian Medicine, a statutory body under the AYUSH Ministry to regulate the Indian systems of medicine, listed 39 general surgery procedures and around 19 procedures involving the eye, ear, nose and throat by amending the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016.
Any Surgery, how-so-ever simple it may look to the people sitting on fence, carries some risk and needs some kind of precautions and regulations to make it risk free. Therefore if there are certain doubts about the safety of the patient, the apprehension needs to be addressed. If the service of surgery by Ayurveda surgeon has to be availed by public, a certain confidence needs to be generated about the safety and quality assurance. Mere push by an enforced law will not lead to genesis of trust and confidence. So there needs to be technical analysis of some kind, whether it is a genuine original strategy or merely an imposed law.
If it was an accepted practice till now, there was no need for such notification. So apparently, if the need was felt to be said in a forceful manner, there has to be something unusual about the practice.
No doubt, ancient Ayurvedic text referred to surgical practices. But in present era of consumerism, patients need to know, how it was being practiced for last 200 to 300 years. What are the results and data about complications.
There are two main categories for the purpose of discussion.
A. Existence of a robust system
B. Individual competencies.
Firstly, there should be basic robust system that will generate Ayurvedic surgeons.
To start with, the CCIM need to satisfy on following questions. Following are the basic requirements of surgery.
1. What kind of Anaesthesia will be used in surgeries by Ayurveda surgeons? Who will be the anaesthesiologist?
2. What are post op pain killers be used in surgeries by Ayurveda surgeons?
3. What antibiotics will be used;. Allopathic or ayurvedic?
4. What are principles of pre-op evaluation?
5. How surgical techniques are different. Are they same used in allopathic surgery or different ones described in Ayurveda?
6. How the post op complications are being managed. Is it by using allopathic medications and investigations?
7. Data of surgeries done in last decade or two in all of Ayurvedic medical colleges, especially those done by Ayurvedic surgeons.
8. Who is teaching Ayurveda doctors about the surgeries? Are there ayurvedic teachers or being taught by allopathic surgeons?
9. Will the people in higher positions and government officials be availing such facilities or it is only for the poor people?
10. Will the patients be given enough information or an informed consent about such Ayurvedic surgeons before surgery?
More than a law, the whole exercise will require a trust building in public along with quality assurance and something unique to make such surgeries practically happen.
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