KARACHI: The Sindh health department has failed to devise a comprehensive strategy to control illegal practices of quacks operating in the city as both old and suburban areas have again become hubs of illegal clinics.

Fake doctors and unskilled midwives have reopened their ‘clinics’ across Karachi due to poor monitoring system of the health department.

Scores of unregistered hospitals, dental clinics and maternity homes are operating in the old and suburban areas of the city without a check. Quacks, non-qualified technicians and untrained midwives running the health facilities are not only spreading diseases, but also complicating the medical issues of the patients visiting them due to a lack of awareness.

Wrong diagnostic methods and frequent prescriptions of antibiotics lead to health complications in chronic patients and fast spread of lethal diseases, including hepatitis B, C and HIV/AIDS.

The areas where mushrooming growth of illegal clinics can be witnessed include New Karachi, Surjani Town, North Nazimabad, Bilal Colony, Ittehad Town, Baldia Town, Orangi Town, Korangi and Sohrab Goth.

Similarly, old city areas of Karachi like Saddar, Lea Market, Lyari, Mauripur, as well as Quaidabad, Landhi, Bin Qasim, Manghopir and Malir have also become the centre of illegal medical practices. The illegal medical practitioners are using the names of known physicians and surgeons of Karachi to get attention of innocent citizens.

Though the Sindh Healthcare Commission with the support of local administration launched several drives against such elements in the past, but the campaigns could not produce the desired results due to political pressure, poor planning and lack of coordination.

Health minister’s media coordinator Meeran Yousuf was not available for comments when contacted.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2020