Unlicensed doctors to face legal action

SOME 393 unlicensed doctors who dispensed medical t re at ment i n Sv ay R ieng pr ov i nc e w i l l f ac e l e g a l action, t he head of t he prov incia l Health Department Ke Rotha said on Sunday.

He said he had sent their na mes to t he prov i nc i a l court last week for illega lly prov id i ng hea lt h ser v ices w it hout per mission f rom the provincial health department a nd t he Minist r y of Health.

Unlicensed “doctors” have caused t he deat hs of up to seven people in the province over t he pa st f i ve yea r s, while the incorrect prescript ion of dr ugs cou ld cause long-ter m negat ive hea lt h ef fects i n many ot hers, he said.

No one had been prosecuted over t he deat hs a s no complaints had been f iled, while technical officials had made mistakes when invest igat i ng t he c a ses, Rot ha said.

“We cannot accept people working as doctors without tra ining or of f icia l permission. We cannot allow them to c a r r y on pract i si ng a s some of t hem a re old a nd have no medical degree.

“However, we encourage those who are young enough to study medicine to get the proper training,” he said.

Thanh Ven, a rura l doctor wit hout a medica l deg ree who had been practising in Svay Teap district’s Romaing T h kol commune, sa id he h a d t r e a t e d p e ople f or almost 40 years without any problems.

He s a id he h a d b e e n t ra ined in medicine under t he K hmer Rouge reg i me, and people had always come to h i m for t reat ment for mi nor a i l ment s s uch a s headaches.

However, if a patient was s u f fer i ng f rom a ser ious medical condition, he would send them to the hospita l or to see a specia list.

“I learned medicine under t he Pol Pot regime. Villagers a lways a sked me to t reat t hem. I never dared to treat anyone with a serious health pr o bl e m. But now t h e

provincial Department of Health has warned me to stop treating anybody,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kuy Phann, a former doctor at Svay Rieng province’s Svay Chrum referral hospital, said on Sunday that although his medical licence had expired upon retirement, locals still called on him to treat them and give them injections.

He said he had never had a problem in his career and had successfully treated thousands of people. No one had suffered as a result, he said. But upon retirement, he treated only minor ailments and referred those with more serious conditions to a specialist.

“I went everywhere to give people injections, and now the authorities want me to sign a contract saying I will no longer do so. When they required me to stop, I stopped, no problem. But so far there have been no issues due to my treatment.”

Svay Rieng prov i ncia l cou r t spokesma n Tep Pha l la sa id he was yet to receive t he list of t he i l l e g a l doc t or s a s it wa s a Sunday.

Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng, Or Vandine, director-general of Technical Health at the Ministry of Health and ministry spokesperson Lo Veasnakir y could not be reached for comment by The Post by press time.

Eang Kimly, rights group Adhoc coordinator for Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces, told The Post on Sunday that rural areas should have doctors at health clinics to provide treatment.

But it was u nclea r whet her t hey had a l l received proper medical degrees or held licences to practice.

She said she supported the court action as people had died due to unlicensed doctors, with no one held accountable.

She called on young, aspiring physicians to get their medical degrees, while older doctors practising without certification or a licence should cease their activities to prevent harming patients.

“It has happened, [we] know it has, and not only in Svay Rieng province but also in others. I know of a woman who died a few days ago while giving birth at a private clinic in Prey Veng province.

“It was clearly not a specialist clinic as she bled heavily while giving birth and died. No one seems to know who was responsible or who should face prosecution,” she said.