No medicines in Ayurveda unit of Kidwai Institute

Nearly four months after the Ayurveda unit was opened at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in the city, patients who visit the unit have to return disappointed as there are no medicines to treat their illness.

Until medicines are supplied, the few patients who visit the unit have to make do with advice about lifestyle and diet changes they can adopt. Sometimes, they are prescribed reasonably-priced medicines which they can buy from other pharmacies.

The Ayurveda unit was opened in April 2017 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kidwai institute and the state department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush). The department is responsible for supplying medicines and staff.  “We have placed the order for medicines about 15 days ago and it is being processed. We have ordered the medicines from Kerala and they are expected to be delivered in one or two weeks,” an official of the department said.

The unit, at present, has only one doctor who has to manage the place without additional support such as nurses and peons. The official said that only one post of a doctor has been sanctioned for the unit. “If a requirement comes up, we will send a proposal to the government. For now, we have one doctor and four interns as well,” the official said.

Director of Kidwai Institute, Dr K B Lingegowda said that he was working with the Ayush department to make Ayurvedic medicines available in the hospital’s pharmacies, along with allopathic medicines.

“Along with treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy which cancer patients undergo, Ayurveda is to be used as supportive treatment,”  he said.

However, not all doctors in the hospital have embraced this move and the number of patients referred to the Ayurvedic unit is less.

Dr Lingegowda said that he has sent an in-house circular to the doctors to make use of the facility. “I am interested in Ayurveda but there may be some doctors who are not convinced. It will take some time for people to come on board,” he said.