Advocate Md.Rayhan Ali: It is very difficult to find the real one in the fake crowd. This is one of the basic human rights to medical care.But it has become increasingly difficult for people to rely on this last refuge to save their lives. Many lives are being sacrificed by fake doctors and wrong treatment. Recently, RAB has also found a specialist doctor in Khulna who has fake certificates. The number of fake doctors as well as `specialist doctors` with fake degrees is not less. They are seeing patients year after year using all the fake, fake, fictitious higher degrees from home and abroad before and after MBBS degree, taking huge amount of fees. It has come to light that one patient after another is dying due to the violence of fake doctors and brokers, wrong treatment, negligence and cruelty of medical trade. Sadly, in addition to the increase in the number of real doctors, the number of fake doctors in their identity is also increasing at a comparative rate across the country. A class of fraudulent brokers is writing the registration numbers and higher education degrees of the real doctors next to their own names. Despite being fake, Divya is seeing patients in chambers and hospitals with the name and reputation of a great doctor. He is taking huge amount of money every day. Recently, during the raids of various law enforcement agencies including Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in different districts of the country including Khulna, there have been reports of arrest of a number of fake doctors. The number of deaths due to fake doctors has also increased. Many first-class hospitals, diagnostic centers and clinics in the country are not excluded from the list of such complaints. The general public is not able to trust the doctors and medical institutions. The patients and their relatives are panicking. There is a rift between the doctor and the patient. Incidents of vandalism, bodily harm and lawsuits are also taking place due to allegations of wrong treatment. According to the prevailing law of the country, any MBBS or BDS (Dental) doctor is required to have a valid registration number of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) if he wants to see a patient in a government private or private chamber. But many doctors do not agree. And this opportunity is being used by fake doctors. That is why the issue of fake doctors has become an indescribably high level of panic among the victims. In the midst of so many adulterations, the real acquaintance seems to have become a big responsibility. According to the data, the number of registered doctors of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) is about 69,000. There are 61,175 MBBS and 6,464 dental doctors. We are really proud of such a large number of doctors, but what is the way to know which of them is genuine and which is fake? So the victims of all the glamorous advertisements fall into the clutches of the brokers. The Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) has provided complete information on their 70,000 registered doctors on their website. If there is any doubt about the doctor, if you search with the BMDC registration number of that doctor, the details including the name and address of the doctor will come out. Then it will be known whether the doctor is fake or right. The law also provides for various punishments for cheating in the name of fake doctors. In this regard, Section 419 of the Penal Code, 180 states that if a person cheats in the guise of another, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or with fine, or with both. In addition, the mobile court can sentence the offender to a maximum of two years and fine. Campaigns against fake doctors go on occasionally. Even if one or two people are caught, they are getting away with the slightest punishment and are engaging in similar activities again. In order to prevent this crime, the administration has to be more active and force the real doctors to obey the law. At the same time, it is necessary to develop the habit of seeking medical services from real doctors by knowingly checking and selecting the general public. Therefore, the law enforcement agencies should be proactive in taking strict action against those who use fake degrees, surnames and provide wrong medical treatment. The Ministry of Health and the Department of Health have to play an effective role in this regard. There is no room for complacency about basic rights like treatment. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure the basic rights of the people. Therefore, the people should be aware of the government`s steps to catch fake doctors to ensure health care.

Author: Advocate Md. Rayhan Ali is a Columnist and Advocate. He can be reached at Email: md007rayhan@gmail.com