Updated February 01, 2018 12:23:27

Photo: Australian doctor Sarah Kemp has been arrested in Nepal for practicing medicine without the correct accreditation. (Supplied: Facebook)

An Australian woman is among 17 foreign doctors arrested in Nepal for practising without the right accreditation.

Sarah Kemp, 39, usually works as a GP in Sydney, but had moved with her family to Nepal to practise medicine in a travel clinic.

The director of the clinic, which serves foreign diplomats, tourists and aid workers, was also taken into custody by police but was later released.

Photo: The Kathmandu travel medicine clinic where Sarah Kemp was working when she was arrested. (Supplied: CIWEC Hospital)

The 17 doctors working at several hospitals across Kathmandu were arrested after Nepal's top medical body initiated a crackdown against foreigners practising without proper accreditation.

Nepali police said their investigation was prompted by concerns about consumer rights.

"They breached the law here," Pushkar Karki, the director of Nepal's Central Investigation bureau, said.

"They were found working illegally, practising in Nepal without any permit and registration from the Nepal Medical Council."

Any doctors found practising medicine in Nepal without permission from the country's medical board are liable for up to three years' imprisonment.

Local police said they had informed the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu of the arrests.

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, doctors-and-medical-professionals, nepal

First posted February 01, 2018 07:54:32