Maharashtra, Gujarat call on services of ayurvedic and homeopathic doctors

BMC recommends monthly pay of Rs 1.5-2 lakh for an intensivist, Rs 80,000 for an MBBS, Rs 60,000 for a bachelor of ayurvedic medicines, and Rs 50,000 for a homeopath

As the number of cases of Covid-19 positive cases surges across the country, states like Maharashtra and Gujarat have now started tapping into the resource pool of practitioners of alternative medicine like ayurveda and homeopathy to fight the virus outbreak.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) or Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)  has decided to hire bachelor-degree holders of ayurveda and homeopathy along with regular MBBS doctors to handle the crisis. In a letter to the deans of medical colleges and health officers, the municipal commissioner has said that by the powers conferred by the Epidemic Disease Act of 1897, the BMC it has decided to hire these professionals at specific remuneration rates.

The BMC has recommended a monthly remuneration of Rs 1.5-2 lakh for an intensivist (or doctor who provides care for critically ill patients), Rs 80,000 for an MBBS doctor, Rs 60,000 for a bachelor of ayurvedic medicines, and Rs 50,000 for a homeopath doctor.

Following this, the Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri, which has now been made a dedicated Covid-19 facility by the BMC, has issued an advertisement in leading dailies seeking to recruit 550 doctors and nurses.

Seven Hills is looking to hire 30 senior consultants who are cardiologists, nephrologists, neurologists among others for a pay of Rs 3.5 lakh per month. It is also looking to recruit 120 assistant medical officers who can be Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS). These recruitments would be for a period of three months.

Public hospitals in Ahmedabad too have stepped up measures to look for and recruit BHMS and BAMS doctors during the Covid-19 emergency. A health official in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation confirmed the same.