Over 500 quacks’ ‘clinics’ shut down

During an ongoing crackdown against illegal treatment centres, the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has conducted raids in 26 districts and shut down 511 clinics run by quacks.

PHC enforcement teams conducted raids on 2,174 treatment centres during the past four weeks and found 84 qualified physicians treating patients in the previously marked quacks’ centres. Additionally, the teams started survey around a thousand suspected clinics.

Out of the 26 districts, 75 centres were sealed in Faisalabad. Meanwhile, 37 clinics were seized in Rawalpindi, 36 in Nankana Sahab, 30 in Pakpattan, 29 in Gujranwala, 26 in Sialkot, 24 in Lahore, 22 in Sheikhupura and 21 in Okara.

PHC enforcement teams raided around 157,000 treatment centres and closed down over 44,000 illegal outlets, while about 36,000 quacks’ businesses were found to have been reopened under new names.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2023.