Healthcare Commission has sealed 529 clinics, labs & hospitals so far

PESHAWAR: Following the Supreme Court directives, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Healthcare Commission has sealed 529 clinics, laboratories and hospitals of quacks across the province so far.

Chief Executive of Healthcare Commission, Aazar Sardar, said the commission in the light of Supreme Court directives had launched action against the quacks in the province.

He said out of 529 clinics, laboratories and hospitals, sealed last week included 178 in Peshawar, 118 clinics and laboratories in Hazara division, 90 in Mardan district and 70 in Swabi district.

Similarly, he said, the commission sealed 26 clinics and laboratories in Charsadda, 17 in Bannu, 13 in Dera Ismail Khan and four in Nowshera district.

Aazar Sardar said action against quacks in the province will continue.

Some 10 days ago, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar during his Peshawar visit, heading a three member bench had ordered the KP Healthcare Commission to shut down clinics of all quacks within seven days.

The commission then called an emergency meeting under the presidentship of its Chief Executive Aazar Sardar, in which it decided to take action against the quacks in the province.

The meeting was attended by regional and senior inspectors of the commission. The commission’s head directed the inspectors to shut down all the quacks’ clinics even by use of force to meet the deadline given by the Supreme Court.

The chief executive said that no one would be spared in the operation against quacks as they would not be allowed to play with the lives of people.

During the course of hearing, the chief justice had told Aazar Sardar that it was his duty after the Supreme Court decision to take a strict action and shut down clinics of all the quacks in the province.

In response to the chief justice’s question about the number of quacks in the province, the KP Healthcare Commission head replied that there were 15,000 quacks. When asked what action was taken against fake doctors, he replied that 122 had been banned.

The Supreme Court had set one-week deadline for the Healthcare Commission to take province-wide action against quacks.

It made it clear that “no stay orders will be issued in this case. “If anyone wants a stay order, then they should come to the Supreme Court,” the chief justice had ordered.

Aazar Sardar had informed the court that the Healthcare Commission was established in November 2016 and despite facing a shortage of employees, with 16 staffers only, it had achieved a lot.