Telangana Medical Council steps up fight against Quackery, registers 500 FIRs
Fake Doctors Caught in Telangana
Hyderabad: Intensifying its crackdown against quacks, the Telangana Medical Council (TGMC) has registered as many as 500 FIRs against Unqualified Medical Practitioners (UMPs) across the State in a little over a year.
Many of the accused claimed to be Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs), a misleading title that closely resembles Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs), the certified doctors holding MBBS degrees. Officials noted that TGMC inspection teams have frequently acted more quickly and decisively than some district health authorities in identifying such practitioners and initiating legal action, reports the daily.
Continuing its drive, the TGMC on Wednesday registered five fresh FIRs in Siddipet town. The accused included people related to Prasad First Aid Center, Gandhi Nagar; in charge of Bhargavi First Aid Center, Indira Nagar; a medical professional of Raja Rajeshwari First Aid Centre, Gandhi Nagar, the owner of Sathvika Clinic near NGO’s Colony; and an operator of Vitthoba Varalakshmi First Aid Centre near Kotilingala Temple.
Speaking to Telangana Today, TGMC Vice Chairman Dr G Srinivas said, “They are calling themselves rural medical practitioners and administering medicine and extending treatment to patients without any qualification, thus endangering lives. Legally, Rural Medical Practitioners are not recognised as doctors. They neither possess valid qualifications nor are they authorised to practise medicine.”
According to one of the senior doctors, “The district health department is the registered authority for all health care establishments, and they should take action on such facilities. At present, however, they take action only after the Council starts filing FIRs on quacks.”
Authorities have warned that strict legal measures will continue to be taken against anyone found practising medicine without the necessary qualifications.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in an effort to safeguard the public health and curb the growing menace of quacks posing as Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs) in Telangana, the TSMC had filed 400 FIRs over the past year and issued notices to 40 doctors suspected of aiding these illegal practitioners. This initiative targeted individuals practising allopathy under the guise of Rural Medical Practitioners (RMPs) without holding an MBBS degree.
