Jalandhar, April 20
Thousands of gullible patients from rural areas of Punjab are falling prey to the gimmicks of certain quacks, not just by going to their "hospitals" or "dawakhanas", but also by availing of their mostly unsolicited referral "services", which they provide after charging hefty commissions — ranging from 20 per cent to 50 per cent — from certain big hospitals and diagnostic centres in major cities like Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Bathinda.
This unethical practice adopted by the nexus of quacks and qualified doctors is common in Jalandhar, which has the largest per capita concentration of hospitals in Asia. Interestingly, most of the about 200 hospitals in Jalandhar are running without qualified paramedics, pharmacists or midwives. Most of these "professionals", who are usually hired for peanuts, are not even matriculates, thanks to the alleged "combined indifference" of the hospitals and state health authorities towards the health and safety of poor patients.
What is more shocking is that contrary to the preachings of qualified doctors who are at the forefront of criticising quackery, certain hospitals have become breeding grounds of quacks. A large number of
unqualified midwives or paramedics settle in rural areas and don the mantle of full-fledged "doctors" after putting in five to 10 years of service at such private hospitals. They also start referring poor patients to these hospitals after charging huge commissions from the hospitals, where patients are allegedly fleeced in the name of "unwanted" multiple tests, scans, surgeries and Caesarian.
Even the state unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has admitted to a widespread presence of this unethical practice.
Dr Kuldip Singh, state president of the IMA, said the association would take strict action and bring such practices to the notice of the MCI.
Investigations by 'The Tribune' revealed that the worst sufferers were pregnant women as they were made to undergo unnecessary Caesarian section operations, which cost between Rs 8,000 and Rs 20,000 in case of private hospitals. In such cases, the commission of a quack or a midwife is around 50 per cent. The same is the case with patients suffering from maladies like abdominal pain and uterous fiberoids.
