ICT administration cracks down on quacks

Islamabad: In a bid to discourage the unqualified medical practitioners continuing in the federal capital, the ICT administration on Friday sealed three fake clinics and registered cases against concerned persons.According to the ICT spokesman, the Assistant Commissioner (AC) Potohar, Mehreen Baloch, visited Police Station Shams Colony area and took action against the quacks functioning without qualified doctors also giving expired medicines to the people.He said fake treatment centres, including Hamdard Medical Centre and Khattak Clinical Lab and General hospital, were sealed and the record has been called for further inspection.Meanwhile, these quacks, having no required qualification, established their clinics in different areas of Islamabad and were playing with health of innocent people and their basic objective was not to provide any health facility but to mint money.Besides residents have expressed concern over the weak health infrastructure in rural areas, saying many homeopathic doctors have also started cheating people dueto the absence of doctors in rural health centers and basic health units.A resident of federal capital, Muhammad Anees said there were many who hold the degree of homeopathy but giving patients allopathic medicines, claiming themselves as allopathic doctor."I took my ill mother to a homeopathic doctor who runs his clinic as an allopathic consultant, adding he gave her wrong medicines which affected her both kidneys instantly, "Sadia Babar a resident of G-13 said.Later, I took my mother to PIMS hospital where doctors told us that wrong medications had damaged her both kidneys," she added. Raja Waheed, another resident of G-11 said that once I felt pain in my chest and visited the nearest clinic where doctor charged quite low fee and believed to be curative.I have started feeling better immediately as he injected a painkiller, after that I became accustomed to painkillers which ultimately turned me a patient of high blood pressure, " he said.Dr Ammara, a medical practitioner said quackery is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the country as due to unsterilized medical instruments being used in check up processes main reason for spreading Hepatitis C.Ammara claimed that these quacks run their clinics mostly in underdeveloped areas to making people fool and used antibiotic and painkillers to give instant relief to patients against petty amount.When contacted, an official of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) said that the council has been running countrywide campaign to stop illegal and unlicensed medical practice. PMDC would continue its efforts to eliminate the menace of quackery which was playing havoc with the lives of the poor patients in the country, he added.

from The News International - National http://bit.ly/2Ti17ex