Legal loopholes: Quackery at your doorstep

Flawed laws, corrupt inspectors helping quacks flourish.

ISLAMABAD:

It was four years ago that the residents of Pindi Sangrial saw a ‘hospital’ pop up in their little village. A ‘doctor’ arrived from nowhere and started providing treatment, both allopathic and homeopathic, to the gullible people. The doctor’s unique talent, though, was that he practised two different fields of medical science without having the requisite qualification for either.

“Sometimes he disappears for months. He was arrested by the police at least twice this year alone, once for giving wrong medication and then for alleged sexual harassment of a woman colleague,” said, Muhammad Sharafat, a local resident.

Welcome to Ali Clinic in Pind Sangrial, about 25 kilometres northwest of the federal capital on the foothills of the Margalla Hills and meet ‘Doctor’ Nadeem, the resident quack.

He is one of 68 fake doctors listed in a recent survey conducted by a secret agency in Islamabad. A copy of the report was obtained by The Express Tribune.

Some quacks, mostly in the outskirts of the city, have been practicing unchecked for more than ten years, said the report.

It was only after ‘Dr’ Nadeem’s trouble with the local police that he witnessed a decline in patients. “Some of his patients lost trust in him. Before this incident, his clinic was always full,” said Sharafat, who has been closely observing the fake doctor’s activities.

Sharafat and his co-workers believed that the fake doctor carefully selected their village for his ‘business’ as the area lacked proper medical facilities and people had to travel to city for ordinary illnesses.

Nadeem and others like him started with meagre fees and gradually increased it as their clientele rose. “Now he charges from Rs250 to Rs500 for administering an injection,” said Sharafat.

These fake doctors cater to the medical needs of people from nearby villages including Shah Allah Ditta, a large settlement. They select areas in the outskirts as they are unlikely to be detected there.

Nadeem competes with ‘Dr’ Shaukat Ali Bajwa, another quack in the neighbourhood who has been practicing for over 22 years, according to the report.

They do occasionally land in hot water from time to time for giving wrong medicines to patients, who later approach the police, but the dangerous doctors always get off the hook and their business continue a usual unhindered. “It is not hard for somebody earning over Rs10,000 a day to pay a Rs2,000 bribe every time they are raided by health teams,” said a District Health Department official who did not want to be named.

He said that health teams rarely raid these doctors, partly because they are bribed and partly they take refuge behind the absence of proper legislation that empowers them to take serious action against such people.

“Drugs inspectors act in accordance with the Drugs Act, 1976 which does not give them much authority to act against many acts of quackery. There are many loopholes which allow the quacks leeway to operate freely,” said the official.

Officials from Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the regulatory body for doctors, also took refuge behind the lack of legislation when asked why they had not taken action against those selling dangerous medicines to innocent people.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Anti-Quackery Committee (PMDC) Chairman Dr Ali Farhan admitted that they had no way to take effective action against quacks due to a lack of proper legislation.

“We have been arresting many quacks but they always get away because of loopholes in legislation,” said Farhan. He said that PMDC has launched a countrywide campaign against them. “We are working hard to draft a bill which would be sent to the National Assembly,” he added.

However, the district health department had other excuses. “The Islamabad administration was busy with the polio eradication campaign, after which, we would look into this matter,” said Islamabad District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Azhar.

He said his department has prepared a list of quacks and would initiate action against them very ‘soon’.

The report of the intelligence agency listed 68 quacks in Islamabad and 145 in Rawalpindi, with most of them operating for years. In Islamabad, these quacks were practicing in Shah Allah Ditta, Golra, Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Meherabadi in sector G-12, Mera Jaffer and Mera Aku villages, New Shakrial, New Iqbal Town, Sohan, Khanna Pul, Lehtrar Road, Sihala, Loi Bher, Humak, Chatta Bakhtawar, Pind Begowal and Tarlai.

Some of the quacks included Sana Family Clinic, run by Sanullah, who is an operation theatre technician at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) by day, but a doctor at his clinic in the evening. Nagina Clinic in Sohan, is run by Attaur Rehman.

Abdullah Clinic in Sohan Bazaar is run by Dr Iqbal, a health ministry employee. However, he is rarely present at the clinic, where an unqualified person treats patients, said the report.

Kamran Hospital in the Khanna Pul area has a signboard showing the qualifications of “Dr Colonel Habibullah PMDC/182-N” while a technician is practicing as doctor there, said the report.

Hamza Clinic in Chungi Pind Begwal where one Gulshan was running the clinic and locals said she was a fake doctor.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2012.