ESI MODEL HOSPITALS
TO HAVE INDIAN SYSTEM OF MEDICINE WING
The model hospitals being set up by the Employees
State Insurance Corporation will each have an Indian system of
medicine wing. This was stated by the Labour Minister Dr. Sahib
Singh while inaugurating a National Conference on "Indian System
of Medicine and Homeopathy" here this morning. He said that the
ESIC has achieved considerable progress in setting of model hospitals
at Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Jaipur & Chandigarh. The Labour Minister
said that another eleven model hospitals are in the pipeline.
Dr. Sahib Singh said that the Labour Ministry is making efforts
to get a legislation passed in the Budget Session of Parliament
for extending the benefits of the ESI Scheme to workers in the
Unorganised sector. He said this would make the ESIC the largest
organisation in the world providing health-care. Dr. Sahib Singh
said that efforts are also on to make ESIC a role model in its
area of operation. The Labour Minister called for popularising
the alternate systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha,
Homeopathy etc. in order to meet the health care needs of a large
number of people in rural areas. He said that the Government must
give full recognition to various streams of the Indian system
of medicine. The Labour Minister called upon the Policy Planners
to give top priority to the revival of traditional system of medicine
which would take care of a large number of ailments at a very
cheap cost. Dr. Sahib Singh said that the availability of doctors
per thousand population in India is still one-fourth when compared
to developed countries and most of them are based in urban areas.
In these circumstances, patients in rural and far flung areas
have to travel long distances for getting medical treatment and
some of them even lose their lives before emergency medical care
becomes available to them. He said that the revival of traditional
system of medicine would be of immense help in changing this scenario.
Dr. Sahib Singh lauded the efforts made by the Employees State
Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in promoting Indigenous System of
Medicine. He said that the Corporation will shortly provide a
booklet containing prescriptions in Indian medicine system for
various common ailments to each of its beneficiaries. The Labour
minister said that health melas would be organised to create awareness
among masses about Indian system of medicine. He said that the
media has a major role in popularising Indian system of medicine
and urged the fourth estate to support the social cause.
The Minister of State for Labour Shri Ashok Pradhan
while delivering the Presidential address said Ayurveda and other
important streams of the Indian Systems of Medicine, are a part
of our cultural ethos and deep rooted tradition. The Indian system
of medicine is founded on the principles of co-existence of the
environment and the mankind. It is a matter of irony that while
the Indian system of medicine has lot much of its ground in the
land of its birth and evolution, more and more people in the western
countries are getting attracted to it. Shri Pradhan said that
reviving and re-orienting the alternative systems of medicine
to meet the needs of our huge population the need of the time.
At the same time it is equally important to re-engineer our research
and marketing strategies to open the floodgates of export of herbal
medicines worth billions of dollars.
Earlier the Director General, C.G,.H.S, Dr. S.P.
Aggarwal said that Indian system of medicine should be encouraged
as 70% of the country’s population depends upon traditional system
of medicine and homeopathy. In his introductory address, Padamshri
Vaidya Devendra Triguna said that preventive aspects as propounded
in Auyerveda should be popularised among people for healthy living.
He said that "Dadima Ka Batwa" containing tradional treatment
for common ailments would be launched shortly.
About 500 delegates from across the country participated
in the day-long conference. The delegates comprised physicians
in alternative system of medicine as well as allopathic doctors
working for the ESI Scheme in the States and senior ESIC medical
functionaries..The National Conference on ISM was initially planned
as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the ESI Corporation
and was scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad. But due to the situation
following the devastating earthquake in Gujarat and the subsequent
adverse law and order situation, the venue of the Conference was
shifted to New Delhi.
