Facing an acute shortage of doctors, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to allow Ayush (ayurvedic, yunani, siddha and homeopathy) doctors prescribe certain specific allopathic drugs.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh here said on Tuesday that as many as 2,800 Ayush doctors under the department of Ayurveda would be sent to the health department.

"These doctors will be posted at different primary health centres across the state," Singh said, adding that these doctors could prescribe 15 specific allopathic drugs.

"These allopathic drugs are often found to be in general use," he added.

The minister said that the state government was taking every step to overcome the shortage of doctors and was committed to ensure quality health services to the people.

Besides, the government would also recruit MBBS doctors on a contractual basis to tide over the shortage, said an official of the health department.

According to sources in the health department, there is a shortage of 7,400 doctors in the state.

"Health services are badly affected owing to the shortage of doctors...many of the primary and community health centres, especially in the remote areas, are being run with the help of only a few doctors," the official added.