BENGALURU: Health Minister K R Ramesh Kumar on Monday informed the Legislative Council that 2,869 cases of fake doctors had been detected across the state in the recent past.
He also admitted that the government was also in fault for not preventing this at the primary level.
Replying to BJP MLC S V Sankhanura, the minister said of the total cases, 634 were reported in Shivamogga followed by Bidar with 276.
He said there are traditional healers who have been practising for ages. But there are some who are neither traditional healers nor have they graduated from any medical college. Some also have fake certificates from other states, he said.
He said the government is aware of fake doctors posing as genuine medical practitioners. This trend is not new. “It’s better late than never. We have constituted an expert committee to streamline medical practitioners, including cracking down on fake doctors. The committee is expected to submit its report in a month’s time,” he said.
He clarified that traditional doctors would not be brought under the fake doctor category. These people carry the medical legacy from one generation to another. They will be kept in a different category, he said.