LAHORE - Punjab Healthcare Commission COO Dr Ajmal Khan said that the PHC, in collaboration with the district government, had closed over 2,700 clinics of quacks.
In a statement, he added that curbing the menace of quackery was the responsibility of the society as a whole as the illicit practices of quacks had acquired social acceptance due to various cultural and economic reasons.
Elaborating on the PHC’s campaign to eradicate quackery, he stated that the campaign had gained momentum with the issuance of authority letters by the PHC to district government officers from Lahore, Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi divisions to seal unlawful facilities under the PHC Act.
He said that since the beginning of July 2015, 918 reports of sealed facilities had been received while a total of 310 facilities had submitted applications for de-sealing. A special committee constituted by the PHC had conducted hearings of 220 reported cases with imposition of fines on quacks amounting to Rs. 3.3 million.
Many quacks had abandoned their illegal practices while a few facilities had been allowed to resume services with the condition that only qualified medical professionals would render treatment to patients during all operational hours. The PHC had directed district administration officials to maintain a close surveillance of such facilities.