PESHAWAR, April 3: The doctors’ community has again reverted to committing illegal and unethical medical practices at their private clinics, following the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government’s plans to do away with the institution-based practice (IBP).
“Today, a doctor performed two operations in the operation theatre in morning time. The doctor left his duty at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, where he was supposed to conduct the OPD,” said an operation theatre assistant at one of the private operation theatres in Dabgari Gardens, hub of private medical activities.
According to him, the doctors were least concerned about their official duty and came to their clinics to examine as well as operate the patients.
Following the widespread complaints of rampant corruption and kickbacks at the private clinics of the doctors, the military-led government placed a ban on their private practice and introduced the IBP in March last year with a view to regulating the medical practice of the doctors.
In the process, about 100 doctors resigned from their jobs at official hospitals and began their private clinics. Unfortunately, the IBP was yet to take off when it suffered a setback at the hands of the MMA government, which, from day one, had indicated its reservations on the IBP. The government also formed an 11-member parliamentary committee on the IBP, which recommended its end last week.
The doctors had started their private practice soon after the installation of the MMA government but the committee’s report further encouraged them and those doing the IBP abandoned it and started their clinics again.
The patients, like in the past, have been forced into carrying out batteries of unnecessary investigations from the designated clinics. In this way, the poor patients are being bled white, but they cannot do anything and ultimately comply with the directives of the touts of the doctors, who roam about everywhere near their clinics.
Most worrisome aspect of the private clinics is that about 25 per cent of the doctors are not qualified and, therefore, did not fall in the category of the specialists. Still, they charge the patients Rs300 as consultation fee like the specialists do.
“There are about 15 qualified radiologists in the city but the number of radiology clinics is over 50. All charge Rs300 for a single ultrasound, of which Rs100 go to the doctor concerned who sends the patients and Rs100 each to the radiologist and the tout who guides the patients to the clinics,” said a radiologist.
In the IBP, he said, every doctor was qualified and there was no room for the non-qualified people to charge the patients a fee equal to consultants. Moreover, there was no charm for the doctors to suggest unnecessary investigations because there was no commission in the hospitals, he added.