Crackdown on Quacks: Telangana State Medical Council seeks permission to appoint Vigilance Officers
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) has
approached the National Medical Commission (NMC) with a request to allow the
appointment of more vigilance officers to nab criminals who indulge in quackery. This move is prompted by more and more cases of illegal medical practices coming to light after the establishment
of TSMC’s special legal and anti-quackery committees.
Dr G Srinivas of TSMC explained that during
each raid conducted by TSMC, a vigilance officer accompanies the officials. At
present, there is only one vigilance officer in the state. Currently, the
anti-quackery committee consists of 21 members who conduct inspections and
gather evidence for filing FIRs with the police.
According to the Times of India, the large number of complaints in addition to intelligence reports has highlighted
the need for additional vigilance officers. “With the large number of complaints being received on email and WhatsApp in addition to our own intelligence network, we need at least one vigilance officer in each district,” said Dr G Srinivas.
one vigilance officer per district is necessary to handle the volume of cases. TSMC registrar Ch Hanumantha Rao echoed this
sentiment, emphasizing that the state medical council has sought clarification
from NMC on whether they can appoint more than one vigilance officer. He
pointed out that the number of unqualified medical practitioners is
significant. Hence, a larger team of vigilance officers is necessary to tackle the issue effectively, reports the Daily.
