The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) on Saturday said it has come to its notice that many health facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes, are employing unqualified or underqualified medical staff.

In a public notice, the council said, "This is against the law and a punishable act. Therefore, it is requested that all hospital owners to please check out the credentials of the employees." This comes following the Delhi Police action against 22 people, including a well-known doctor, this month in connection with kidney transplant rackets, one of these involving Bangladeshi nationals.

The DMC also advised visiting doctors to "make sure that your patient is under care of qualified persons only". These doctors will be held responsible for any deficiency of services to their patients, it said. The council said that "all hospitals, nursing homes and clinical establishments are requested to check the facilities available with them and admit patients accordingly only".

"It has come to the notice of the Delhi Medical Council that many hospitals, nursing homes and other clinical establishments using modern medical sciences (allopathy) are employing doctors/medical staff who are either unqualified/underqualified or qualified in other branches for the treatment of patients," the public notice, issued by DMC president Dr Arun Gupta and Registrar Dr Girish Tyagi, read.

Health facilities were also asked to make sure all regulations required by the law, including fire safety, are complied with, the DMC said.

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