IMA Maharashtra Doctors' 24-Hour Strike: What's Behind It And What Will Remain Open? Details Here

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Indian Medical Association (IMA) doctors in Maharashtra have announced a strike for 24 hours beginning September 18 to protest against the state government's move to permit homoeopathic doctors, who have completed a one-year Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP), to register and prescribe allopathic medicines in select cases. IMA Maharashtra President Dr Santosh Kadam mentioned that emergency medical services will continue to be functional.

Kadam said approximately 1.8 lakh allopathic doctors across the state participate in the strike, PTI reported.

The government will begin registering homoeopaths separately with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) today. The MMC is a government authority that oversees the registration, regulation, and ethical standards of medical professionals in Maharashtra .

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Kadam said,“Our representatives met the chief minister on Wednesday and gave him a memorandum of our grievances. We are going ahead with the 24-hour strike, which will begin from 8 am on September 18. All doctors, students from government and private hospitals from across the state will participate in this strike.” He mentioned that emergency medical services will continue to be functional.

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He added that government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) medical colleges' resident doctors' organisations, including Central MARD (Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors ) and BMC MARD, have slammed the decision and vowed to take part in the strike.

President of the Federation of All India Medical Associations, Dr Akshay Dongardive, cautioned that doctors would begin a nationwide protest and may even take to the streets to inform the public about the“risks” if the government does not reverse its decision.

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In an earlier letter to the Chief Minister, the Maharashtra unit of the IMA stated that the move would enable“inadequately” trained individuals to treat patients, potentially resulting in misdiagnosis, adverse reactions, antibiotic resistance, and patient deaths, particularly in rural areas.

The association also warned that registering CCMP-certified doctors with the MMC would establish a dual system, causing confusion, misconceptions, and mistrust among the public. Additionally, the report noted that it could undermine the international credibility of Maharashtra's medical education and healthcare system.

It emphasised that permitting CCMP (homoeopathic) doctors to register with the council would establish an example, prompting other alternative medicine practitioners to seek equivalent recognition, potentially resulting in“chaos in the healthcare system and erosion of public trust".

(With inputs from PTI)

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