Bhubaneswar, Nov. 3: A private diabetes clinic operating without a valid registration at Jayadev Vihar was sealed by the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) today.

The DMET also found that the owner of the clinic is not a qualified medical practitioner.

The clinic, which was also conducting diagnostic tests, was sealed flowing a complaint with the health department. DMET officials said that the owner of the clinic, Ramesh Chandra Swain, was claiming to be a doctor.

"A clinic needs to be registered under Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010. However, the clinic was running without valid registration. When we conducted a raid on the clinic, Swain fled from the spot, " said Umakant Satapathy, the joint director of DMET.

Further investigation revealed that the clinic came into existence five months back. "The clinic also has two branches in Cuttack and Rourkela. Both the clinics would be sealed soon," said a DMET official.

The clinic was running in a four-storeyed building with around a dozen of supporting staff members, most of whom were women. It was offering outdoor and day care facilities besides conducting diagnostic tests. "The clinic has been giving advertisements in newspapers to lure patients. Though the owner has told us that he was not prescribing medicines to patients, we found a number of computer-generated prescriptions from the clinic. Such unethical practice can harm the lives of patients," said a DMET official.

Further investigation also revealed that though Swain has appointed a doctor for the clinic, he himself was prescribing medicines to the patients. The DMET also found that the clinic was charging exorbitant fees for treatment and diagnosis. "Investigations are on to ascertain if Swain is also running such clinics at other places in the state. If necessary, we will initiate legal action against the him," said a DMET official.

In the past, health department authorities had conducted raids against unauthorised clinics, mostly ultrasound clinics both in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Similar raids had also been conducted in other parts of the state ever since female foetuses were found dumped at several places in Nayagarh, which is around 100km from Bhubaneswar, in 2007, leading to a nationwide hue and cry. Many ultrasound clinics in Cuttack and other parts of the state were found to be functioning without valid permission during the raids that followed the Nayagarh incident.