PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Commission, having limited staff, is struggling to do away with unqualified medical practitioners on the instructions of the chief justice of Pakistan.

However, the main focus of the commission has so far been on the paramedics, leaving aside the doctors, who posed as consultants, and medical centres devoid of intensive care units, blood banks and other facilities mandatory for life-saving procedures.

Azar Sardar, the chief executive officer of HCC, told Dawn that they had primarily started inspecting clinics run by paramedics, who according to the Supreme Court weren’t authorised to treat patients privately as they were required to assist the doctors. “So far, we have sealed over 200 clinics permanently and the campaign against such outlets is in progress,” he said.

Paramedical Association provincial president Syed Roidar Shah in a press release on Wednesday warned of protest against the HCC if it continued with its tirade against the members of the association.

Paramedics threaten protest against healthcare body

“Paramedics play instrumental role in provision of healthcare to patients at the public sector hospitals. They are qualified enough to extend first-aid to the people in their clinics,” he said.

Mr Shah said that their members had diploma and degrees from KP Medical Faculty and Allied Sciences and Khyber Medical University. “They refer patients to hospitals after giving them first aid,” he added.

Mr Sardar, however, said that they would show no laxity in taking action against the unauthorised clinics and wouldn’t allow anyone to play with the lives of people.

“We are aware that medical centres in Peshawar and elsewhere in the province do not have intensive care units and blood banks, which are extremely important to cope with emergency but we are short of staff at the moment,” he said.

He said that there were a total of 23 inspectors, who were required to cover the entire province except seven districts of Malakand where the law had not been extended. He said that 10 of them were newly-recruited and were being trained.

“Our job is life-threatening and we need to enlist support of the district administration prior to carrying out inspections,” said Mr Sardar. He said that after the CJP issued the directives on April 19, they were aggressively working to ensure that the people did not land in the clinics of unqualified people.

“We are also working seriously to appoint more people as we are facing issues in reaching the outlets. When our staff raids medical centres and clinics, the people pull down shutters and run away to escape action. We need enough staff to work to a desired level for which we are working,” he said.

Mr Sardar said that during the past one year, they registered 4,800 private health facilities.

Medical experts said that there were clinics run by simple medical graduates where patients were charged consultation fee ranging from Rs500 to Rs1,000. “Dabgari Gardens, a hub of medical activities, Board area and internal city have clinics where general medical practitioners act as dermatologists and sexologists and charged people heavily for infertility,” they said.

Health experts said that such practitioners also administered injections in clinics and gave steroids to the people facing sex-related problems. They said that patients were being sent to the public sector hospitals when they became serious during operations in private cantres and maternity homes because there were no arrangements for life-saving procedures.

Majority of the investigation outlets in private sector do not have qualified staff.

The HCC chief said that they knew about the wrongdoings but would access to all the unqualified hospitals, clinics and laboratories etc once they got the desired number of staff.

“Any person indulging in unlawful medical practice wouldn’t be spared,” he vowed.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2018