Cracking down on quacks

I dearly appreciate the federal minister for health’s plan to crackdown on quackery and eliminate and hope that he is rewarded here and hereafter for his sincere efforts. I would humbly like to point out a few things and make a few suggestions in this regard and hope that the minister will pay heed to them.

Many matriculation dropouts are practicing as quacks these days and the poor and downtrodden form a large chunk of their victims. If qualified doctors are available in every town, the practice of quackery would automatically suffer and eventually die down.

I’ll give the example of just one area: Badaami Bagh. This area comprises of Datanagar, Karamnagar, Siddiqia Colony, Hanif Park, Bengali Bagh and Ravi Chowk and it has a population of around 5 lac people. There is only one doctor, Muhammad Rafi, who opens his clinic during the morning while the rest of the qualified MBBS doctors operate for a little while at night. All day, quacks have their way with people.

I would suggest that dispensers who are qualified or have an experience fo 15-20 years be allowed to give allopathic first aid. These people are not a huge sum and they can provide infinitely better care than quacks. In backward areas these dispensers should be registered so that they can help people out.

The anti-quackery campaign that has been started is appreciable but the minister should look into making local committees with the available doctors so they can monitor the area and ensure that quacks are not still at large. If doctors are too burdened, they can be aided by drug inspectors. If lady health workers that have the bare minimum qualifications can be handed the responsibility of not one but two lives simultaneously, why not give dispensers, homeopathic doctors, DMPS and other qualified medical personnel the official permission to conduct first aid. This might help in eliminating quackery.

DR ABDUL-KHALIQ CHAUDHRY

Lahore