Ima maharashtra doctors' 24-hour strike: What is behind it and what will remain open? Details here

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) doctors in Maharashtra began a strike for 24 hours on September 18 to protest against the government’s move to allow homoopathic doctors, who did a year -certified course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to register and prescribe allopathic medicine in select cases. Santosh Kadam, president of IMA Maharashtra, mentioned that emergency medical services will remain functional. Kadam said about 1.8 lakh allopathic doctors across the state participate in the strike, Pti reports. The government will begin to register homoopaths separately from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) from today. The MMC, a government authority, oversees the registration, regulation and ethical standards of medical experts in Maharashtra. CM Fadnavis said a ‘memorandum of our grievances’, Kadam,’ our representatives met the main minister on Wednesday and gave him a memorandum of our grievances. We continue with the 24-hour strike, which will start from 18 hours at 18 hours. All doctors, students of government and private hospitals from all over the state, will participate in this strike. ‘ He mentioned that emergency medical services will still be functional. He added the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) medical colleges residents, including Central Mard (Maharashtra Association of resident doctors) and BMC Mard, and promised the decision to participate in the strike. President of the Federation of All India Medical Associations, dr. Akshay Dongardive, warned that doctors would start a nationwide protest march and even take to the streets to inform the public about the ‘risks’ if the government did not reverse its decision. In an earlier letter to the main minister, the Maharashtra unit of the IMA said that the move would enable individuals ‘insufficient’ to treat patients, possibly leading to wrong diagnosis, adverse reactions, antibiotic resistance and deaths from patients, especially in rural areas. The association also warned that the registration of CCMP certified doctors at the MMC would establish a double system, which would cause confusion, misconceptions and distrust among the public. In addition, it can undermine the international credibility of Maharashtra’s medical training and healthcare system, the report states. It emphasized that allowing doctors from CCMP (homoopathic) to register with the council would set an example, requesting other alternative medicine practitioners to seek equivalent recognition, which might lead “chaos in the healthcare system and erosion of public trust”. (With input from PTI)