Govt Siddha doctors in Kerala form new association to promote Siddha dispensaries in rural areas
The Siddha medical practitioners working under the Kerala ISM department and assigned with various Central and state government projects have joined hands to form an organisation of government Siddha medical officers on the lines of the Kerala Government Ayurveda Medical Officers Association.
The new organisation of Siddha medical officers will be known as ‘Kerala Government Siddah Medical Officers Association’ or KGSMOA, and will have its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram, said Dr. V B Vijayakumar, medical officer at the Government Siddha Dispensary at Aattingal.
Medical officers of hospitals, dispensaries, PHC units, NHM doctors and NAM assignees will join the association to work as a body of Government Siddha Medical Officers in Kerala.
Dr Vijayakumar was the vice-president of the erstwhile Central Council of Indian Medicines (CCIM) and the leader of siddha professionals in Kerala for the last 30 years. He said the formation of the organisation is in the pipeline for several years. He has called a meeting of siddha doctors working in government hospitals, regular dispensaries, attached units, NHM doctors and contract doctors working on National Ayush Mission projects in the state capital next week.
According to him, the state has very few Siddha practitioners under the government sector. The total number of them comes around 60 only. The main motto of the organisation will be to encourage the local self-government bodies to establish more Siddha units in village-punchayaths. He said it is the duty of the unemployed Siddha graduates to encourage the village-punchayaths to establish more Siddha units like those of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy dispensaries. Since the associations are weak and inactive, government doctors are planning to approach the local self-government bodies to set up more siddha health centres.
While speaking to Pharmabiz, Dr. Vijayakumar said the private associations of Siddha medical graduates are not properly functioning to create employment facilities for their members. He has given several proposals to the government to set up Siddha dispensaries in every punchayath. Government has given priorities for Ayurveda and Homoeopathy to flourish well in the state. He said siddha is also a stream of Ayush and such consideration has to be achieved from the government.
As regards Siddha health centres, Kerala has only one hospital with IP ward and beds, and that is located at Vallkkadavu in Thiruvananthapuram. Six regular dispensaries are functioning one each at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Idukki, Palakkadu and Malappuram. In the same way there are 10 attached Siddha units in the Ayurveda hospitals located in 10 districts. In addition to this, 28 NHM siddha dispensaries are working in rural areas. The hospital at Vallakkadavu has sufficient staff, but the dispensaries are functioning with one doctor and one attender each. Further, the National Ayush Mission projects are assigned on contract doctors whose number comes around 12. All these projects and programmes are carried out under supervision of the Kerala ISM directorate.
Dr Arun Baby Palakkamadathil, a senior Siddha medical practitioner assigned with NAM projects and president of Kerala Siddha Medical Graduates Association, said under the centrally sponsored scheme National Ayush Mission medical camps are conducted in tribal areas and health programmes are implemented for women under the banner ‘Kanya Jyothi’ project. He said all the 12 doctors working under the NAM will associate with the upcoming organisation of government Siddha doctors.
Source : 1
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