Sindh Health Minister Sikandar Mandhro has directed the provincial Health Department to take action against fake doctors as well as government doctors involved in private practice, health officials said on Sunday.

Mandhro warned that the department would launch a province-wide crackdown if government doctors do not immediately end their practices in private clinics.

"At public hospitals, some doctors even advise patients to get admitted to their own private hospitals," he observed.

Mandhro also ordered action to be taken against fake doctors who are practising without possessing the requisite medical certifications.

He claimed that public hospitals in Sindh are providing patients with free-of-cost treatment better than private hospitals and clinics.

Officials at the Health Department said a list of government doctors engaged in private practice has already been created and action against them will begin soon.