Quacks posing as doctors endangering lives of Delhi residents
NEW DELHI: Delhi has been witnessing a sharp rise in the number of ‘quack’ doctors, who are creating havoc by means of their unlawful practice in both rural and urban areas.
In 2016, the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) had released closure orders for 109 quacks in the city. Yet, the menace threatens the sanctity of the medical profession and the lives of patients in the city.
The former chairman of DMC’S antiquackery cell Dr Anil Bansal told Millennium
Post: “One such case had come out in 201314, when one Riyazuddin (who declared himself to a be compounder during court proceedings) was convicted by the Delhi High Court for illegally performing a medical termination of pregnancy on a patient, resulting in her death. The accused was convicted to five years rigorous imprisonment, with a fine of Rs 1,05,000 under the relevant sections of the MTP act as well as the IPC.”
In 2014, the High Court also summarised a broad action plan for keeping quacks in check. However, “at that time, police said it will register an FIR within three days after the DMC completes investigation. (DMC) has been continuously updating them about the cases that need immediate action but they have not responded,” Dr Bansal rued.
He revealed that DMC is flurrying with the complaints of quacks in Delhi. “We received around 25 in a month and responded to them, but most of the time police didn’t respond appropriately and medical officials had to face consequences during the raids.”
Meanwhile, “the lack of awareness and delinquency in the system lead to mushrooming quack in the Capital,” he added.
Ironically, however, the DMC has not raided any quack in the last two years despite serving enquiry.
Even as Bansal admitted that no data on quacks is maintained centrally, he stressed that quacks are present in lakhs in India, with around 60,000 working in Delhi.
His statement is supported by a World Health Organisation study, which states that 57.3 percent of allopathic doctors did not have a medical qualification, with 31.4 percent educated only up to secondary school level.
A senior citizen in South Delhi’s Madangir lost his life after an insulin injection was given to him in his wrist instead of stomach or thigh. The victim’s son registered a complaint against the quack and fought the case for two years.
Recently, he received a letter from DMC stating that they raided the address mentioned in the compliant, but found no one. The deceased’s son, however, maintains that the accused bribed cops and still runs his clinic in Sangam Vihar.
According to the senior official at DMC, the council has received hundreds of complaints. “We have requested police to register around 415 complaints in the past four years. Out of these, 145 FIRS have been registered by Delhi Police,” he said, adding that registration of complaints is the police’s discretion.
While only a few victims of fake doctors have the courage and awareness to file a complaint, many accept death as fate, especially in rural areas.
Another official of DMC said that these quacks are also the reason behind increase in cases of HIV and Hepatitis B infections. Such quacks do not follow the right procedure while diagnosing infected patients.
Many qualified doctors in Delhi believe that quacks should be banned since they are working at the cost of human lives. However, despite the outrage, fake doctors continue to rot the system from inside.