Rein in quacks

Our front page news item yesterday indicating that bogus doctors are on the prowl is indeed cause for alarm. According to the report a bogus doctor who had performed an abortion on two sisters aged 18 and 21 had been arrested in Moneragala. This is not the first time that quack abortionists have been arrested. But it seems it is business as usual. What is shocking in the report is that this abortionist had even visited homes to ply his trade. Not so long ago there was a news report on how an illegal abortion clinic was run in a posh residential area in the heart of Colombo. How was this possible in the midst of the tight security the city was under then is anyone’s guess.

Today it is common knowledge that quacks are a dime a dozen. These quacks even operate in the open setting themselves up in dispensaries and medical centres with none the wiser. To assure the public they also have their so-called medical qualifications prominently displayed on the boards in their premises.

These bogus medical centres are often seen in rural areas where the public are more gullible. Today with the huge expansion of the medical sector there is a plethora of medical clinics, nursing homes medicare centres, laboratories etc. that have sprung up like mushrooms. Mini medical centres can be seen in almost every nook and corner which are often crowded with patients. The Health Ministry would do well to carry out inspections on these so-called medical facilities to ensure they confirm to the required standards not to mention the credentials of the personnel manning them. While in a majority of instances they are regular practitioners it has also come to light that some of them are dispensers at government or private clinics who have set up ‘practice’ during their off duty hours to supplement their income. This needless to say could place patients seeking treatment from these quacks at grave risk.

There is therefore a need to check the qualifications of those manning these wayside medical outlets. There are also those doctors who have been blacklisted for medical negligence who still carry on with their practice surreptitiously. Attention should also been paid to the indigenous sector. Today we have people seeking treatment from the so called reputed vedamahattayas who charge large sums only to learn too late that they have been swindled. Similar dubious characters are also found in large congested tenements and slums in the cities who play on the gullibility of the people. Quacks of all forms should be exposed and hounded out before they could pose a serious threat to an unsuspecting public. The Health Minister should conduct a probe into the abortion incident to ascertain if the practice had become widespread in the rural areas.

What is shocking is that our hitherto unspoiled villages too are now gradually catching up with the modern trends. Who would have imagined that illegal abortions could take place in a remote, far flung backwater such as Moneragala where villagers still steadfastly uphold the country’s deep-rooted traditions and moral values. It is certainly an indication of the degeneration society had undergone in the name of progress and modernisation. Recently we reported that as much as 6,000 illegal abortions are being conducted daily in Sri Lanka. This in a Buddhist country where all living beings are held sacred. How did this moral decay come about is not difficult to understand.

Today the fast paced life and interminable rat race has dehumanised our society to such an extent that even life has lost its value. The moral decay one sees all around too has made our society insensitive to life. Needless to say Sri Lanka is fast emulating the West not only in its habits and mannerism but also the degeneration. The slide to this state of affairs was not a sudden phenomenon and could be traced to the advent to liberalisation in the late seventies where a laisser faire ethos blasted all our traditional values and ethos from their moorings. Today we ride roughshod over all our once sacredly held customs and values. This change is seen in almost all aspects of modern day living. Lawlessness is rampant and vice widespread. Call girl rackets go on in the open and even the Police are helpless. Even the voice of our religious leaders are stilled. There is therefore nothing to be surprised at incidents such as that reported from Moneragala.

All Governments in the past turned a blind eye to the moral decay in society while focusing attention only on economic development. It is hoped at least the present Government will lay emphasis on enthroning our fast vanishing spiritual as well as traditional values while treading the path of development and progress.