Category: Ticket

US President Donald Trump’s administration is weighing cutting off funds to hospitals that it says provide gender-related treatments for children and teenagers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The reported deliberations come after the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent a letter, opens new tab in May to a number of hospitals performing “pediatric sex trait modification procedures,” outlining what it said were concerns over quality standards and profits related to the procedures.

The CMS asked hospitals to respond in 30 days – a deadline which passed on Saturday.

In the letter, CMS Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz – the celebrity physician nominated by Trump – said the administration would not “turn a blind eye to procedures that lack a solid foundation of evidence and may result in lifelong harm”.

Nine children’s hospitals received the letters from the CMS demanding data on sex-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and puberty blockers, the WSJ said.

Some hospitals are re-examining or closing gender-related care programs, citing the CMS inquiry and potential loss of federal funds, the report added. Reuters

A senior government doctor who recently claimed shortage of surgical equipment and delays in procedures at the state-run Medical College Hospital here, on Wednesday said that the issues were resolved quickly only after he highlighted them publicly.

Dr Haris Chirakkal at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, also questioned whether creating a controversy was the only way to resolve such issues.

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The doctor, in a Facebook post, had recently said that the shortage of essential medical equipment had led to the postponement of surgeries and had alleged that repeated assurances from authorities had failed to resolve the issue, leaving patients in severe pain waiting for timely treatment.

On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters here, he said that a file related to one of the equipment was pending at the Collectorate for around two months, but was quickly processed after his FB post.

Another equipment was delivered at the hospital amidst the ongoing enquiry in connection with his revelations, he added.

“How were these resolved so quickly when I created an issue over it? How did these things move so fast after being delayed for months? So, things will be resolved only if an issue is created?” he asked.

At the same time, he admitted that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was right when he said that such revelations, when highlighted in the wrong way, could unintentionally misrepresent the larger picture.

“He is a sincere government employee, free of corruption and deeply committed to his duty. Despite this, he has now inadvertently become the reason for misrepresenting what is arguably the best healthcare system in India. It is unclear whether this was his intention. Still, this incident should serve as a lesson for all of us,” Vijayan had said a day ago at an event in Kannur.

Responding to queries from reporters about what the CM had said, the doctor conceded that what he had said “would cause some damage to the health sector.”

He said that his intention was to ensure the shortage of equipment is resolved and he neither wanted the health department or the hospitals under it to be blamed nor did he want protests against them.

“Such things would lead to what I said being misunderstood. What I want is that red-tapism and bureaucratic delays be avoided,” he said.

Dr Chirakkal further said that despite the CM’s remarks, he has a lot of respect for Vijayan.

The doctor also said that he had expected some opposition to what he had said, but everyone, irrespective of party leanings, told him that what he said was correct.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the CPI mouthpiece, Deshabhimani, said that what the doctor said had caused a lot of misunderstanding, but the health department intervened quickly and resolved the issue.

A committee has been appointed to investigate the cause of the situation and to recommend steps to prevent it from happening in the future, it said.

It alleged that the opposition was trying to gain political mileage out of the issue by spreading the news that the public health sector in the state was having problems.

The editorial said that pointing out mistakes and trying to correct them was fine, but it was different from trying to harm the government in the name of some shortcomings. PTI

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday announced that following the establishment of Uttar Pradesh’s first AYUSH University in Gorakhpur, the Uttar Pradesh government will now set up at least one 100-bed AYUSH health and wellness centre in every district.

These centres will offer key treatments such as Panchakarma and Ksharasutra. In addition, the state government has decided to open one AYUSH college at each of the six divisional headquarters that are currently without such facilities.

The CM made the announcement while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Uttar Pradesh’s first AYUSH University—Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath AYUSH University.

Welcoming President Droupadi Murmu, the chief guest, and governor Anandiben Patel, the special guest of honour, Yogi stated that both the central and state governments are continuously working to ensure holistic health for all.

Prior to 2014, India’s traditional systems of medicine had not gained global recognition. After taking office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the Ministry of AYUSH, integrating Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and Siddha, and gave traditional medicine a national platform, he said.

The CM said the Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath AYUSH University is a result of PM Modi’s vision for comprehensive wellness. With the inauguration complete, the university will now move forward with its admission process. It will offer medical services across various traditional systems including Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy and Siddha. The university will also emerge as a major centre for research and development in the AYUSH sector.

Yogi highlighted that the university will play a significant role in providing employment opportunities to both farmers and youths. Through this institution, cultivation of medicinal plants will become a viable source of income. He said the university will also be instrumental in promoting traditional medicine as a new form of health tourism.

The CM expressed confidence that the university will emerge as a premier destination for health tourism in the future. During his address at the inauguration ceremony, Yogi also spoke about the connection between Ayurveda and the Nath tradition.

He explained that Rasashastra and metallurgical sciences in Ayurveda are linked to the legacy of the Navnath and 84 Siddhas. The credit for systematically organising these disciplines, he said, goes to Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath. Hindustan Times