(COLOMBO) – Most Sri Lankan patients who suffer from fatal diseases have become victims of bogus doctors and native physicians, a top regional doctor warned on Saturday.
Informal surveys conducted by the Government authorities have revealed that nearly 45,000 such bogus medical practitioners are now treating patients countrywide, District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr. S.M.A.Priyadarshana said.
These bogus doctors misuse registered numbers and certificates issued by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) in the name of doctors who are deceased, he said.
He said the Health Ministry has already received nearly 2,000 complaints on these bogus doctors who are active island-wide during the past 12 months.
Senior health officials has instructed all regional Directors of Health to conduct sudden raids to round up these bogus doctors with the help from the Police authorities and the public from April 8 as they issue wrong prescriptions to patients without any medical knowledge.
Consequently, some patients have died of taking such wrong drugs prescribed by those bogus doctors, he said.
Dr. Priyadarshana said many bogus medical centres have been set up at rural and urban areas which are not registered with the health authorities or at any other responsible Government medical body.
Approximately, 33,000 such bogus medical centres are reported to be operating countrywide. There is no proper system or procedure to regulate these bogus centres, he said.
Nearly 36 patients who had sought the medical advice of bogus doctors are reported to have died during this year alone according to officials at the Sri Lankan Health Ministry, he said.
