Senators want PEMRA to ban quacks on TV shows

PMDC to act against medical colleges not treating half of their patients for free

ISLAMABAD: With unqualified or people with dubious credentials handing out health and beauty tips using herbs and vegetables on television shows, senators have demanded that the regulatory authority should crack down on the practice.

“My maid used one of the tips [advised in a morning show] and it burnt her face,” Senator Ateeq Shaikh said during the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulations and Coordination

“My wife asked me to take up the issue in the committee,” Senator Shaikh added.



The senators expressed concerns over self-proclaimed experts, who do not have any credible credentials, giving beauty and health tips on television. They noted that this was a dangerous trend and could cause hazardous side effects for those using the unqualified tips.

Senator Shaikh added that those who were handing out health and herbal tips on television were neither doctors nor qualified hakeems.



“In morning shows, some jack-of-all-trades comes along and gives various beauty tips mixing various vegetables, fruits and other household items to apply on the face, but they do not have credible credentials,” Senator Shaikh said as he narrated the story of his household help. He suggested that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should be directed to take notice and ban those ‘experts’ who were not qualified to give health tips.

PMDC

Azher Ali Shah, the registrar of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) told the committee that as many as 49 medical colleges had submitted their compliance report to the regulator on implement the policy to treating 50 per cent of their patients for free.

However, 19 medical colleges have yet to submit any compliance report, including the Shifa International College in Islamabad.

State Minister for Health Saira Afzal Tarar said that the PMDC had been facing a number of challenges in their fight with private colleges.

“If the colleges cannot afford to provide free treatment to 50 per cent of patients, they should provide free treatment to at least 30 per cent of the patients,” she said as she hinted that the government was ready to negotiate with private medical colleges on the matter.



The members of the panel, however, recommended that the PMDC take strict action against colleges who did not implement the regulator’s policies. They also asked the secretary health to look into the matters of PMDC employees who were facing issues in their promotion.

Dearth of doctors in FATA

The committee was further told that in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), hospitals are facing a severe shortage of doctors.

At the moment, 275 positions for specialists are lying vacant with buildings waiting for qualified staff. Officials told that the committee that even though 150 doctors had been appointed for hospitals in Fata, few turned up to work, adding 70 per cent of doctors appointed did not want to serve in the tribal areas.

Noting that most of the doctors deputed in Fata are employees of the K-P government, Senator Hilalu -Rehman said the Fata health secretary should be granted powers to investigate doctors who do not turn up.

The committee suggested providing better packages and allowances at par with other doctors in the country to entice doctors to serve in the tribal areas.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health secretary told the committee that they had taken action against 200 doctors, of which 196 were fired while 24 others working on ad hoc basis were also terminated.

He added that attendance of doctors is monitored through an independent system. Of the 1,054 who were found absent for one or two days, their salaries were deducted for those days amounting to a total of Rs.8.6 million. He added that 25 doctors who were receiving double salaries also faced actions.

The K-P health secretary further said that there were around 1,500 doctors who were in surplus in K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2017.