Chennai, Dec 11 (IANS): A majority of Indian Medical Association (IMA) member doctors and corporate hospitals in Tamil Nadu are participating in the 12-hour withdrawal of medical services on Friday to protest against Centre's policy on 'mixopathy' or mixing of allopathy and ayurveda, said an official.

"We have about 45,000 doctors as our members and about 5,000 hospitals in Tamil Nadu. They have withdrawn their services, other than emergency and Covid-related services, to demand the withdrawal of Central Council of Indian Medicine's (CCIM) notification dated November 19 on PG ayurveda education, National Education Policy 2020 and the four committees set up by Niti Aayog for integration of healthcare systems," AK Ravikumar, Secretary, IMA-Tamil Nadu, told IANS.

He said that the central government has permitted Ayush doctors to carry out nearly five dozen types of surgeries, risking patients' lives. "At a time when modern medicine specialisation is moving towards micro-specialisation, the central government's policy is nothing but a 'masala' system of medicine," Ravikumar said.

He said that the dentists' association too have extended their support to the strike.

According to D Aram, Virdhunagar District Secretary, IMA, the modern medical science is termed as English medicine and at times as Christian medicine by the ruling party.

"Curiously, politicians who are favour mixopathy do not go for ayurveda treatment when they contract Covid-19. An allopathy doctor has to undergo several years of education and training to specialise in a particular field and then turn into a surgeon. But allowing ayurvedic doctors to do 58 different types of surgeries jeopordises people's lives," Aram added.

The IMA is against the lateral entry of paramedics and other systems of Indian medicine graduates to practice allopathy as allowed by the National Education Policy 2020.

Similarly, with the aim of 'one country one system of medicine', the Niti Aayog has formed committees viz. medical education, medical practice, public health and medical research to formulate means for the integration of all systems of medicine vide AYUSH and modern medicine into one system or 'mixopathy', the IMA's Tamil Nadu Chapter said.

"Let each system of medicine excel in their own domain and help the patients to recover, instead of crossing the barrier into other systems, getting half-baked training which is equal to producing qualified quacks," Ravikumar said.