Indian Medical Association to observe strike in Maharashtra Thursday

“If the government fails to accept our demands the strike will continue at the national level,” Dr Sachin Patil, president, central unit of MARD, told The Indian Express. The Federation of All India Medical Association has also extended full support to the doctors’ strike. Dr Askhay Dongardive, national president of FAIMA, said they will continue the strike nationally.

Several hospitals associated with the Hospital Board of India (Pune Chapter) will observe the daylong token stir.

The strike is in protest against Maharashtra’s Department of Medical Education and Drugs’ recent circular directing the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) to register homoeopathic medical practitioners who have completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) course.

“We firmly believe this decision poses a serious threat to the safety and quality of the healthcare system,” IMA-Pune office-bearers said. They pointed out that the MBBS course is 5.5 years long, involving comprehensive study of 19 subjects, extensive clinical exposure and a mandatory one-year internship. In contrast, CCMP is only a one-year course, conducted two days a week, which is grossly insufficient to develop the required knowledge, skills, and clinical decision-making abilities needed in modern medicine.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) and state medical council guidelines are clear: a licence to practice modern (allopathic) medicine can only be granted to MBBS degree holders or those with equivalent qualifications. CCMP is merely an orientation course and cannot legally justify licensing practitioners for modern medicine, doctors at IMA said.

According to an official statement released by IMA, office-bearers said globally too, MBBS is the only recognised standard undergraduate medical course. Allowing CCMP-based registration will dilute the international credibility of Maharashtra’s medical education and healthcare system and if such a precedent is set, other alternative medicine graduates may also demand similar privileges. “This will cause confusion and chaos in the healthcare system and will erode public trust,” they added.

The way forward would be to increase MBBS intake and establish new medical colleges., provide financial, social and professional incentives to MBBS doctors serving in rural areas, promote telemedicine, mobile medical units, and digital health services and improve the overall public healthcare infrastructure.

The IMA has demanded the immediate suspension of the decision to allow CCMP doctors to register with the Maharashtra Medical Council, and implementation of the circular until the pending High Court case is resolved and also ensure only fully trained and qualified MBBS doctors should be granted licences to practice modern medicine.