Chronicles of quackery: When real doctors are outshone

According to health experts, stern action must be taken against quacks endangering lives.

KARACHI:

Today, finding a self-crowned healer is a cinch - the quacks now reside in every nook and cranny, and their presence is increasing by the day.

Because of the apparent negligence of this issue displayed by health authorities, it is not just the patients, but also the registered medical practitioners, who continue to suffer.

There are over 800,000 quack clinics and maternity homes across the country, according to a rough estimate provided by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA). In Sindh alone, there are 250,000 quacks who continue to operate, with over 100,000 of those based in Karachi.

The ratio of quacks to certified doctors is much higher in slums, peripheries of sprawling urban cities, katchi abadis, and rural areas. In Karachi, they can be found easily in Keamari, Neelam Colony, Machhar Colony, Mowach Goth, Lyari, Malir, Orangi, Gaddap, Landhi, Korangi and New Karachi.

When fakes dominate

Genuine, qualified medical practitioners often face a host of problems when they start their clinics in an area where the con doctors rule. Dr Murtaza Sehto, a child specialist in Halani, a small town in district Naushehro Feroze, airs his grievances about patients in the vicinity preferring the quacks over him.

“There are around 20,000 quacks in this district, and nine of those are in Halani. All they know is how to inject and give medicines for minor diseases, such as fever, cough, and diarrhea,” he says exasperatedly. “And yet, all kinds of patients, even those with major diseases, go to them. We will have a very sick generation soon.”



According to health experts, it is the illiteracy, poverty and ignorance of the public, and the blind eye that the relevant authorities have turned, that allows these ‘doctors’ to keep operating without fear of being taken to task. Furthermore, in many areas, quacks even pay a monthly amount in bribe to health officials, and some are even backed by criminal elements.

“What they do is a crime. If the authorities kept an eye on them, how would they even dare!” says a belligerent Sehto. “They are more powerful than real doctors. They have the connections.”

‘Our doctors can deal’

There are 145,000 general practitioners and 28,000 specialists in Pakistan. According to experts, these doctors can easily deal with a population of 180 million.

“We have good doctors who can certainly manage the health sector,” says Dr Aziz Khan Tank, chairperson of PMA’s Anti-Quackery Committee and member of Anti-Quackery Committee of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council. “But these quacks will continue to operate unless authorities take stern action.”

Although these ‘imposters’ rule local communities in rural areas, Tank believes they can be tackled if all doctors in these vicinities perform their duties for a period of at least three years.

“We need a strong policy in place. This is not an ordinary problem,” Tank states.

Tank explains how it is harmful for patients to visit such healers, as they prescribe medication based on guesswork. “First, people visit quacks. Then, when the situation becomes complicated, they have to end up at the real, reputed hospitals,” he says. “Health authorities must ensure there are proper primary health units in rural areas.”

He, along with other health experts, firmly believes that a complete crackdown against quacks is only possible if provincial authorities maintain the health department’s affairs. Without a law against quacks, no real solution will come to light.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2013.