The Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) is awaiting a report on action taken against unregistered medical practitioners practising allopathy.
Healthcare Reforms Doctors’ Association (HRDA) and others have lodged complaints that some people who are not qualified to practise allopathy medicine have performed abortions and prescribed medicines which only registered doctors are allowed to do.
Citing illegal and unethical practices in a letter addressed to Mancherial District Medical and Health Officer ( DMHO), Council registrar Dr Ch. Hanmantha Rao has requested for conducting a detailed inquiry and submission of report. Further, the Council’s Legal and Anti Quackery Committee chairman Dr Ch. Jaganmohan Rao had directed all DMHOs to submit action-taken report against fake doctors practising allopathy by April 20.
TSMC chairman Dr E. Ravindra Reddy, however, said they had not received the action-taken reports yet.
At loggerheads
HRDA, Telangana Junior Doctors Association and other doctor associations have been at loggerheads with unregistered medical practitioners for past many years.
President of HRDA Dr K. Mahesh Kumar said bringing in Anti-Quackery Law is the only solution to the problem.
He said some unregistered medical practitioners were providing medical treatment in their first aid centres.
Citing replies to queries under RTI Act, Dr Mahesh Kumar, in a representation submitted to the Health and Family Welfare department’s Principal Secretary A. Santhi Kumari on April 3, stated that Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Telangana State Para Medical Board, Telangana State Medical Council and Department of Ayush stated that no Act or government order was issued and no regulatory authority gave permission to establish first aid centres.
“There is no register maintained by any department for unregistered medical practitioners. So, establishing a first aid centre by unknown and unregistered person will cause damage to health of society,” Dr Mahesh said, adding that many people without proper qualification are establishing first aid centres, claiming to be doctors and administering unnecessary scheduled medicines to poor and uninformed patients.
