Harish Rao inaugurates Ayush clinic in NIMS, resident doctors call it unscientific

HYDERABAD: Minister for Finance and Health T Harish Rao inaugurated first of its kind Ayush Integrated Wellness Centre at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The wellness centre would offer Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and nature cure facilities in one place. “Many retired officers and employees of the Government sector are benefiting from wellness centres,” the minister said speaking at the inaugural ceremony on Thursday.

He said that the Government had been encouraging alternative treatment methods such as Ayush in the State. He said that recently the Government developed the Nature Cure Hospital at a cost of Rs 10 crore. “We have 834 Ayush dispensaries, five colleges and four research hospitals. New 50-bed Ayush centres are being built at Vikarabad, Bhupalpally and Siddipet,” Harish Rao said.

Harish Rao informed that colleges would commence very soon in nine newly constructed medical colleges in the State. “Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will inaugurate the event after completion of the counseling process. With this the total number of medical colleges will increase to 26 from five,” he said. New colleges would add 900 new MBBS seats to the existing seats.

“The number of MBBS seats in the State was 850 at the time of the bifurcation of the State. Now we have 3,915 seats indicating an increase of six times,” the Health Minister said. He added that very soon Telangana would create a history of sorts by constructing one medical college each in all the districts of the State.

NIMS Doctors oppose Ayush

Meanwhile, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of NIMS in a statement expressed its disappointment and deep concern over the inaugural of the Ayush centre at its campus.

“The RDA firmly believes in evidence-based medical practices that prioritise patient safety, scientific rigor and the highest standards of care. Our primary concern lies in the potential risk to patient well-being. Ayurveda and Homeopathy, though having their merits, lack the extensive clinical validation and research that modern medicine demands,” the RDA said.

Integrating these disciplines within the medical institute would inadvertently compromise patient care, mislead patients, and dilute the rigorous standards that Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences was known for, the resident doctors pointed out.

“We are disappointed by senior doctors who allowed this to happen. RDA urges the institute's administration to prioritise evidence-based practices and uphold the sanctity of scientific medicine. There is no place for alternative medicine practice in an allopathic hospital,” the RDA said categorically.

The association urged T Harish Rao and the administration of NIMS to reconsider their decision and disengage Ayush clinics from NIMS and any state-run allopathic hospitals.