Tightening its noose around the quacks playing with people’s lives in the State, Punjab Government is all set to launch a Statewide drive to check their activities. For the purpose, State Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani on Monday issued stern directions to all Civil Surgeons to launch a statewide drive to check quacks.
Jayani, presiding over the Civil Surgeons’ conference, said that it was a matter of great concern that quacks especially in the remote rural areas were misleading the people and playing with their health. He asked them to implement the law dealing with magic remedies and lodge criminal complaints against such quacks. The Minister said that he has also got complaints that these quacks were also in the business of selective abortions flouting the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act saying that Civil Surgeons should lay traps to catch such quacks red-handed.
Resolving to ensure ‘health for all’ under the National Rural and National Urban Health Missions, Jayani said that Punjab Government was committed to provide universal health cover to all citizen and it was bounden duty of all civil surgeons to check fleecing of innocent citizens by these quacks. Reacting to the shortage of specialist doctors, he said that immediately on completion of post-graduate course in June, they will be deployed in all hospitals. More than 400 specialist doctors would be deputed by the end of next month, he said.