PESHAWAR, March 23: Since the NWFP government imposed a ban on the private practice of the public sector’s doctors, the practice of retired medical consultants has been thriving with each passing day, according to a survey, conducted by Dawn.

“I have been examining some 50 patients per day since the imposition of ban on the private practice of government-employed doctors. Before the ban, I used to see between 10 and 15 patients a day,” said a physician, who retired from government service about 10 years ago.

He said doctors had turned their profession into a “dirty” business, bringing the profession into disrepute.

The ban on private practice was imposed in view of the increasing public complaints against public sector’s doctors. The decision has been welcomed by the people across the province.

A general surgeon, who retired two years back from the government service, said the number of patients visiting his clinic had increased significantly.

He was of the view that doctors worked in the government’s hospital for their aggrandizement, as patients, once treated by them, preferred to consult them at their private clinics instead of going to retired doctors.

An orthopaedic surgeon said that after retirement, the number of patients at his clinic had reduced drastically but “now patients are coming.” He supported the government’s decision to regularize private practice, saying that the ban would improve the health care facility in the province.

A gastroenterologist said he was receiving 50 per cent more patients after the ban. “As most of the senior consultants are not available in their clinics, the patients visit the clinics of retired consultants,” he said, adding that most of the defiant consultants had not opted for institutional-based practice at the government-run hospitals in the evening shift and the patients were rushing towards the clinics of retired consultants.

A retired gynaecologist said she was unable to cope with so many patients at her clinic or to operate upon them at her small hospital because she was in the habit of examining only 20 patients a day.

“I am not going to comment on the government’s ban on the private practice of doctors outside public hospitals because this is not my cup of tea. I am entertaining the additional patients coming here for treatment just for the sake of humanity.”

For some retired consultants, who were not receiving even two patients a day, the ban has become a blessing, as patients are visiting their clinics in good number.

Similarly, the retired pathologists and radiologists spoke of the increased work at their clinics after the ban. They said retired doctors referred most of the patients to them for carrying out investigations.