Quackery Crackdown: Telangana State Medical Council acts against 55 quacks

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on quackery, as many as 55 quacks have been identified in recent surprise raids conducted by the Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) at first-aid centres in Suryapet and Nalgonda districts on Wednesday.   

During the raid, members of the anti-quackery team found that these individuals lacked proper medical qualifications and were administering various antibiotics, abortion pills, and steroid injections to patients, in addition to carrying out illegal secret abortion procedures.

Besides, the quacks claimed themselves as doctors by displaying a signboard at their centres which stated they were Registered Medical Practitioners and Private Medical Practitioners. They were found practising medicine at the level of MBBS which goes against the NMC regulations.

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Taking action against these individuals who were putting lives at risk by providing medical treatment without the necessary qualifications, the council has registered FIRs under Section 34 and Section 54 of the NMC Act. 

Over the past few days, the council conducted several raids at the first-aid centres run by fake Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) at Chandur in Nalgonda district and in Suryapet and found these 55 quacks violating the norms. 

Following this, the council issued notices to several fake RMPs who were running first-aid centres in these two districts of Telangana, as reported by the Deccan Chronicle. 

“For the protection of public health, the fake doctors who are taking advantage of the needs of the poor people without any medical qualification through the fake medical system are being identified and will be punished,” said TSMC in an official statement.

TSMC vice president Dr G Srinivas told TOI, “Despite not having the required qualification, they are randomly giving antibiotics, steroid injections, abortion tablets in some centres. Also operation theatres and secret abortion procedures have been identified."

Speaking to media at Suryapet after the raids, SMC legal and anti-quackery committee member Dr M Sheshu Madhav said as quoted by Deccan Chronicle "It was found during their raids that many of the RMPs were using words like clinic and hospital on the boards of their centres in violation of rules."

Previously on 24th May, the council also conducted inspections at the centres operated by the quacks in the Chintal, Shapur, and IDPL areas of Hyderabad. Around 50 FIRs were registered against the quacks and two fake doctors were remanded and sent to Chanchalguda Jail. Apart from putting up a board calling themselves as doctors, they were also found setting up medical shops and diagnostic centers in connection with them. Eight members of separate TSMC members teams including Dr Pratibha Lakshmi, Dr Kiran Kumar, Dr Sunny Davis, Dr Imran Ali, Dr K Vishnu, Pandu conducted inspections at different centers at the same time. Further, the process to shut down the clinics is underway, as per the Siasat Daily report. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that in a bid to ensure transparency and authenticity, TSMC is set to launch an online database of registered doctors. As per the council, this user-friendly registry would be accessible to the public, allowing individuals to easily verify the legitimacy of doctors before seeking their consultation.

With over 60,000 doctors enlisted in TSMC, the absence of digital records posed a challenge during council elections. Renewing registrations was particularly difficult as there was no online option available. In the absence of a streamlined process, TSMC introduced a portal during the recent elections, addressing concerns related to certification, renewals, NoCs for practising in other states, and more.

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