Functionaries of the General Practitioners Association (GPA), Kerala, a forum of MBBS doctors, are receiving many phone calls on their ‘quack cell’ which was launched a week ago to collect information on unauthorised and unregistered medical practitioners in the State.
Ashik Basheer, State joint secretary, GPA, said on Saturday that the helpline recorded at least 14 cases across the State in the past few days. These are from districts including Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, and Malappuram.
A police complaint had been registered against a 28-year-old woman who “worked as a doctor” without any qualification at a private hospital in Ernakulam district for three years. She had apparently used the registration number of a veteran neurologist from Kothamangalam on her medical prescriptions. The fake doctor had claimed that she was a “general physician” with an MD degree. This was unearthed by two members of the GPA who later joined the said hospital. A complaint had also been filed with the district medical officer. The accused is at large now.
