The failure of the government to work out a registration procedure for private clinics and hospitals is allowing quacks and midwives to wreak havoc on the lives of poor citizens. A large number of private practitioners are operating all over the country without any rules and regulations without having licence from the government.
A quack is a person who pretends to be able to diagnose or heal people, but is incompetent and lacks proper qualification and training. Normally, he uses unsterilised instruments. In registered hospitals and clinics, in case of mishandling of a patient, the registration department of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council cancels the registration of a doctor, but there is no such registration system for quacks.
During a visit conducted by Pakistan Today to rural areas in the surroundings of the capital city it is observed that many hospitals are found in Bhara Kahu, Bari Imam, Bani Gala, Shahdara and Rawalpindi which claim to have obtained licences from the Ministry of Health and, ironically, many of them were not hesitant to claim that they obtained licence from World Health Organization (WHO). On the other hand, the number of female quacks is also growing rapidly, who often mishandle abortion and delivery cases, leading to the spread of serious diseases and sometimes causing death.
Mishandling of delivery and abortions cases by untrained LHVs largely can also damage the reproductive system of a female. In addition to the private clinics, people in suburban areas just open a medicine shop and start medical practice as the residents of such areas are uneducated and cannot differentiate between a doctor and a quack. The only thing that matters for them is fee, so they prefer a doctor who charges comparative lesser fees.
“Private clinics and hospitals are not registered, so there is no way to keep a check on them,” Dr Nadeem Akbar, registrar, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), lamented while talking to Pakistan Today. He said, “We have raised this issue recently due to its seriousness, but we don’t know what the result will be.” It is worth mentioning here that over 2,000 private hospitals, clinics, doctors and medical practitioners are not paying any taxes, the lower house of parliament was recently told. Since they are not registered, there is no possible way to levy any taxes on them.
“Wrong diagnosis, improper treatment and huge charges are a routine at these places”, an official in the Ministry of Health said. “There is no law to control the mushroom growth of private hospitals in the country and some people are taking advantage of this lapse on the part of the Health Ministry,” the official said, adding that no action had been taken by the high-ups though they were informed repeatedly. “We are not satisfied with the facilities provided at public sector hospitals, which are always overcrowded,” Ahmed Hassan, a patient at a private clinic.