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Saturday, October 5, 2024

Sindh Healthcare Commission on a mission to reduce ‘Quackery practices’ across Sindh

Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) has grown at a rate of 47 percent this quarter, according to the Director-Anti Quackery. Anti-quackery teams completed a total of 2564 inspection and enforcement visits in the first quarter of 2022.

According to the Director-Anti Quackery, Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC), has achieved a growth momentum of 47% this quarter.

In first quarter of the year 2022, a total of 2564 inspection and enforcement visits were conducted by Anti-quackery teams (SHCC). Total 495 HCEs were found in -compliance of the law, while 1581 HCE’s were in violation under section U/S 39-i(h).

Total 768 HCE’s were officially sealed by SHCC and 813 warnings were issued on malpractice and policy violations. Additionally, 430 follow-up inspections were conducted on previously legally de-sealed HCE’s to ensure writ of law is sustained.

Read more: Sindh Healthcare Commission meets key media stakeholders for briefing in Karachi

Fines were imposed on practitioners who were non-qualified or working beyond scope of the law. Total penalties imposed on multiple offenders during the quarter was PKR 4.8 million.

According to Directorate of Anti-quackery reports, there was a surge of illegal clinics since January 2022 across the province, creating an urgent need for SHCC teams to probe and identify illegal clinics propping up in heavily populated areas.

SHCC teams worked round the clock with law enforcement agencies for the welfare of healthcare practitioners to facilitate them in registering their clinics with SHCC enabling them to be identified as responsible service providers and not ‘quacks’.

Read more: Is Sindh government vaccinating VIPs instead of healthcare workers?

How did it all start?

Anti-Quackery Directorate is the frontline cohort of the Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC), established under the SHCC Act, 2013. The SHCC Directorate aims to play an active role in pursuance to U/S 2(xxix), 4(1), 4(2) (q); facilitate to perform such functions and exercise such powers and take necessary steps for banning quackery in the province of Sindh in all its forms and manifestations and take corrective measures to enforce regulatory laws with the help of stakeholders as approved by the competent authority.

According to Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, an estimate more than 600,000 quacks are operating across Pakistan and one-third of them are practicing in Sindh. More worryingly, the majority of them, estimated to be around 200,000, are practicing in the province of Sindh and around 40% of those are working in the Cosmopolitan and biggest city of the Country i.e. Karachi.

Read more: Is Sindh government politicizing COVID-19 vaccine deployment?

It has been reported that the number of quacks are increasing in Sindh, both in urban and rural areas. Therefore, the health of the inhabitants of the province especially in the low quantile of the wealth defined as vulnerable including; poor, critically ill, women and children are at severe risk.