| Dear Readers,
This is our second issue on homeopathy hospitals of the past, present
and future. Last month Dr. Barvalia enthralled us with his clinical
acumen and grand vision of his homeopathic hospital. This month,
we have with us - Dr. Navin Pavaskar - who is going
to take us further in the same direction with his exceptional knowledge
and work experience in managing hospital cases with homeopathy.
Most of us have read about the great work that homeopaths have
done in the past in hospital cases as well as in emergency situations.
There was a time when homeopaths even performed surgery! The miracles
that were performed by Hahnemann in epidemics of Scarlet Fever to
the wonderful results that homeopathy is giving in the current epidemic
of Chikungunya Fever, are all fine examples of the efficacy of homeopathy.
The clinical experience of the homeopaths of the 20th century was
so vast that it led to the publication of some very fine works which
dealt with gross pathologies and hospital cases. Just to name a
few -
These are just a handful of works which show the efficacy of homeopathy
in all sorts of disorders - repeatedly. Even at present there
are people doing excellent clinical work in hospital emergency and
life-threatening situations. Some examples are:
There are others like Dr. Barvalia and Dr. Pavaskar who are also
working towards the same goal. I know about homeopathic hospitals
in Kerala(India) with an IPD of 150 patients and an OPD of 700 patients
per day! Isn't that amazing. There was a time when homeopaths used
to give allopathic medicines in disguise (secretly) - some still
do. But I have seen the tide changing. Today, I know many allopaths
who use and (even prescribe) homeopathic medicines. They even send
so many of their own difficult cases to us. Some times allopaths
even ask me remedies that they should give to their patients and
they even go to the extent of asking 'How do we give the homeopathic
medicine so that the patient doesn't know that we are using homeopathy?'!!
But in spite of all these great advancements, we have to understand
the ground reality too. Homeopathy, though spreading rapidly, is
still in rough waters as far as the western world is concerned.
Even in India, where there is a huge public and government support
for homeopathy, the actual number of people taking homeopathic treatment
in comparison to allopathic treatment is still relatively small.
Then the education being provided in homeopathic colleges - even
in India - is not good enough for the homeopaths to create hospital
setups independently. So when Dr.
Luc says that he does not share Dr. Barvalia's enthusiasm, I
understand his position. The way ahead for homeopathy is still not
easy. But at the same time, I must say, we are going through a very
exciting time as far as the development of homeopathy is concerned.
So the big question is - Is it time again for homeopathic
hospitals? I believe yes! Though it is a cautious yes.
In India, at least, the time has come to create hospitals where
we can prove the efficacy of homeopathy in large setups, where statistical
monitoring of cases is easy and can be validated. The results coming
out of such institutes will force the governments all over the world
to sit up and take notice of what we can achieve with homeopathy.
This is part of my personal vision of homeopathy too - someday,
I would like to create or be a part of such an organization.
We also have to realize that homeopaths won't be able to work in
isolation in hospital setups - not till we develop the same level
of management practices that conventional medicine has developed
over the years. We will need to master diagnostic procedures, general
management, surgery and much more before we are able to work alone
- without the aid of conventional medicine. But, if we can find
allopathic doctors, who are willing to work in tandem with homeopaths,
the path will become much shorter. Medicine has to evolve from the
segregation of systems - a truly holistic concept of medicine is
one in which the patient is given the treatment that is most suitable
for her, treatment that works for her - be it conventional medicine,
Homeopathy, Ayuerveda, Reiki, EFT, Psychotherapy, Physiotherapy,
Regression Therapy or something else. Each system has something
to offer to mankind and the time has now come for an 'Integrative
Medicine'. The only wish I have is that Homeopathy finds a
central place in this new evolving scheme and gets its due respect
as the most powerful healing modality yet discovered!
I hope with these two issues of Homeopathy 4 Everyone,
we will be able to create more awareness about the need and the
approach for creating homeopathic hospitals. Do send me
your feedback about this issue at editor@hpathy.com.
Your comments and suggestions about this journal and various articles
published in each issue are very important to us. So don't forget
to write to us. We await your letters eagerly.
Yours sincerely,

-- Chief Editor --
Homeopathy 4 Everyone |