PESHAWAR, June 6: Quacks, especially those claiming to practice Chinese medicine, are messing up with the people's health besides fleecing them by claiming to treat all sorts of ailments, doctors and health officials said.
A few of the Chinese hospitals, claiming to offer treatment for diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, are without qualified doctors. A doctor said that these hospitals also offered "cures" for sex-related ailments.
"Doctors working in these hospitals only hold three-month diplomas in acupuncture. But they prescribe alleopathic drugs, which isn't their domain," a senior doctor said.
An official of the directorate of health said that the government allowed them to stay on one-year business visas, but they prolonged their stay, owing to corrupt officials responsible for curbing quackery.
According to immigration laws, these so-called doctors were not allowed to open clinics but they somehow or the other managed to run clinics and fleece the gullible people, said a source.
He said that they were required to get their outlets registered with the Pakistan Medical Dental Council before starting to practice medicine here but none of the Chinese hospitals in the city had PMDC's permission.
They did not even have licenses required for the sale of drugs, he said. These licenses were issued by the NWFP's Pharmacy Council, he added. These outlets were too small in terms of covered area making them unfit for running hospitals there, he said.
One such single-room hospital is located in a hotel in the Cantonment area, displaying signboards offering treatment for all kinds of sicknesses. Some patients, who had visited these hospitals, said that there was no improvement in their conditions despite paying dearly in terms of money.
"I had gone to one of the Chinese hospitals, where I explained my problem to an acupuncturist through a translator. The acupuncturists held my wrist to determine my pulse rate for some time, then told me that it will cost me Rs42,000 for complete treatment", said a patient.
He was so disappointed by the way doctors and the staff of that hospital had handled him that he had decided not to visit the hospital again. Another man expressed frustration after visiting another such hospital for six months in a bid to cure his mother's diabetes.
He said that he had spent about Rs10,000 on her treatment, but her condition had deteriorated instead of seeing any improvement. Executive District Officer (health), Peshawar, Dr Mosam Khan told Dawn that they had already sealed a Chinese hospital in the University Town area, adding that it had laboratory equipment but the people operating it were not doctors.
"They were just minting money." Another such hospital, located in the Hashtnagri area, was facing a court case and June 10 was fixed for the hearing of the case. Another one in Cantonment area had been warned to pack up.
The EDO said that these Chinese hospitals usually hired the services of some Chinese doctors, but when these doctors go back to China, the people were treated by quacks. "We will not allow such hospitals at any cost. Anyone found to be running such unauthorized clinics will face the law," he said.
