Quacks make merry as govt flounders

BANGALORE: The next time you're at a doctor's clinic, you'd do well to carefully read his licence to practise medicine proudly displayed on the wall and make sure he's from a bona fide medical college. It could be the difference between life and death.
For, quacks have made a smooth shift from the roadside and dingy buildings to well-appointed clinics and nursing homes.
In the past five months, 25 fake doctors, most of them from Bangalore, have been arrested and FIRs filed against them.
Venkataramiah, registrar of the Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) Practitioners' Board, authorized by the government to inspect and file cases against fake medical practitioners, told TOI: "Based on public complaints, we have investigated and arrested 25 fake doctors in the city. Most of them have only passed the SSLC or PUC exams. With work experience as ward boy or nurse in nursing homes and using fake medical certificates, they have even been running clinics and nursing homes for years."
Most institutes or boards which have supposedly given them certificates are non-existent. These include the Indian Multipurpose Medical Welfare Society, Indian Board of Alternative Medicines (affiliated to the UN!), International Association of Educator for World Peace and Rural Medical Practitioners Association of India. The majority of these quacks practised allopathy.
Fake docs registered by registrar
More than hundred fake doctors have been registered by the former registrar of the AYUSH Practitioners Board. According to a Lokayukta report, although most of these doctors have taken exams at different points of time, they all received Vidwan certificate on the same day from Andhra Ayurveda Parishath. Even the signature is forged.
Interestingly, on verification of the transfer certificate and on comparing the birth date and year of passing the Vidwan exam, it was found that one of the certified doctors was declared Vidwan at the age of 13!
Another candidate Nagesh Chilale studied at Government High School, Rajajinagar. While his school records show March 1976 as the last date at school, surprisingly, the Andhra Ayurveda Parishad certified him Vidwan in November 1975. The Lokayukta report also states that most of these certified doctors have only passed high school or SSLC.
"There's a big racket of fake doctors. For the past three years, the post of registrar was vacant and only six months ago, I took over as registrar. I've been strict with fake doctors. I was issued a transfer order and asked to be medical officer at a district hospital. With such a government system, can we check fake doctors?" said Venkataramiah.
Police co-operation vital
The AYUSH Practitioners Board also accused the police for not cooperating with them during the investigation and in filing the FIR report. "With police reluctant to file an FIR, most often the accused go free. For the past two weeks, we're just asking for a written apology and letting them go with a warning. Without departmental cooperation, it's difficult to control these fake doctors," said official sources.
The real McCoy
A qualified doctor will have an authorised medical certificate from a genuine institute and be registered with the Karnataka Medical Council, Karnataka Homeopathy Board, Karnataka Ayurveda and Unani Practitioners Board. If someone is found practising medicine without a valid degree, a legal case is registered against her under Karnataka Medical Registration Act 1961, Sec 34.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com