mid day editorial: Bogus doctors can't be allowed to function

More than two months after the Agripada police identified 58 bogus doctors in the city, only one - the mastermind - has been arrested, while the rest continue to practise unabashedly. Their postgraduate degrees were de-recognised by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) and the cops registered n FIR against them in October 2018. Despite that, they continue to put patients' lives at risk, a front-page report said in this paper.

The MMC found several forged certificates after checking with the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) in the city. The police say that their investigations are continuing in the case and information has already come in through the arrested doctor. This has to be dealt with on a war footing, as even after being outed, the daocs have somehow managed to keep practising at clinics and hospitals, which is simply unacceptable. Considering the risk to patients, the employers should have at least been informed about the impostor docs.

The Medical Council now needs to step up to the plate, along with the police, to start picking out the docs submitting fake certificates. Start mailing these lists to hospitals and clinics so that employers are at least aware and become alert to the possibility of fake doctors on their rolls. Even though police action may take a while, an internal inquiry can be constituted in hospitals, and fake doctors can be removed from employment with immediate effect.

In this way, at least the 'cleansing' process can begin. Other fake doctors will get the message, too, when they see their fraudulent counterparts being fired. On a macro level, it is time for councils to try and get to the root of this racket and prevent it from repeating. The problem is a very serious one and one of the highest concern, it should be treated with the gravitas it deserves.

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