It is shocking that in today’s world when there are umpteen numbers of channels and sources to garner information with regard to anything and everything, there are fraudsters who somehow were running the private healthcare clinics in various districts of Jammu and Kashmir in contravention to the set rules and even allowing brazenly the quacks to put the lives of hundreds of gullible patients into risk. It is a fact that people in general have the notion that private healthcare establishments were better than their government counterparts but taking the case of erring medicos, the need to come up with certain concrete measures to stop the Gorakhdhanda by the aforesaid unprincipled segment of the society has been felt as never before.
In this context, reportedly the authorities have sealed three private clinics in Kashmir where the self-styled doctor, earlier apprehended in Anantnag, was practicing. It is pertinent to mention that a private clinic was sealed in Anantnag and on the same day, three additional clinics were sealed, one in Ganderbal and two in Srinagar for taking things for granted.
Reportedly, in Srinagar a team of officials was formed to inspect clinical establishments in the district that identified two clinics operating in Hawal and Nowshera where the self-styled doctor was practicing besides these establishments also lacked the registration certificates under the DRA norms forcing the visiting team to seal both these establishments. In the case akin to Srinagar, another team inspected a clinical establishment in the Duderhama area in Ganderbal linked to the case of the self-styled doctor and finally sealed that establishment also. There is no doubt in the fact that the government has taken right step in the matter but the big question is why government has allowed certain gaps in the monitoring system that such establishments were indulging in such misadventures posing a grave risk to the lives of people visiting these places with a hope to get better medical care as compared to government establishments.
Going by such intolerable incidents, it becomes necessary for the authorities to keep a vigilant eye on unscrupulous individuals tarnishing the image of the medical community and exploiting unsuspecting people. Albeit, the authorities in the aforesaid districts have issued directions to private clinics and hospitals to submit all the necessary details of the doctors practicing in such establishments to keep a check on the doctors with doubtful credentials but what about other districts? It is advisable for the concerned authorities to replicate such practices across all districts in the Union Territory and also mandate all private clinics to establish a designated showcase or display area within their healthcare facilities, showcasing copies of all mandatory certificates and qualification documents of the practicing doctors. This transparency ensures that people are well-informed about the credentials of healthcare providers, thereby significantly reducing the scope for fraudulent practices. This should be followed by regular inspections by higher authorities in the concerned department, as the responsibility for ensuring quality medical care lies with the government.
Therefore, monitoring and addressing such malpractices should not be arbitrary; rather, it should be mandatory and conducted on a regular and stipulated basis, without any leniency or leeway to the entities running such businesses in the Union Territory. This will establish a mechanism for fail-safe services to individuals visiting private clinics for healthcare-related issues.
