Patients suffer as ayurvedic wing at hospital lies closed
Amritsar, August 26
Patients willing to get treatment through the use of herbal medicines are an inconvenienced lot as the ayurvedic wing at the ESI hospital here has been lying non-functional for the past two years.
Ram Avtar, a patient, said whenever he and his family visited the ESI hospital for seeking treatment through ayurvedic medicines, they had to return empty-handed. Neither Ayurvedic doctors nor medicines were available. He said patients were suffering a lot.
Gulshan, another patient, said though some money was deducted from his salary towards the ESI fund every month, but they were getting no treatment here. A visit to the hospital costs dearly to a labourer as he has to forego the wages of the day, besides bearing travel costs.
The Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Parishad recently handed over a memorandum each to District Ayurvedic and Unani Officer Dr Dinesh Sharma and Amritsar ESI Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Kirandeep to operationalize the facility.
Ram Bhawan Goswami of the parishad in a communiqué to the Hospital and Punjab Ayurvedic Department said a large number of ESI card holders, a majority of whom being industrial labourers, had been complaining of not getting treatment at the ayurvedic wing.
Dr Dinesh Sharma, District Ayurvedic Officer, said the OPD of ayurvedic medicine was functional at all ESI hospitals across the state. He said the parishad needed to write to the Secretary, Health Department, to get an ayurvedic doctor deputed.
