By Fred Kockott
It would have taken just a call to the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPSCA) to establish that 51-year-old Ann Nosizwe Mbodla is not registered as a medical practitioner, yet she was allegedly hired to treat prisoners for more than a year at the Umzinto Correctional Services centre on KwaZulu-Natal's South Coast.
Mbodla was arrested this week on charges of fraud, and remains in custody pending a bail application, and police are now investigating how this contract came to be awarded and what steps, if any, were ever taken to confirm Mbodla had the necessary qualification to treat people.
National Correction Services spokesperson, Manelisi Wolela, said he was awaiting feedback from KwaZulu-Natal officials.
He then said: "But most doctors coming to our facilities are coming to us through the department of health. Doctors are not employed by us."
SAPS spokesperson, Captain Vincent Pandarum, said the cases of fraud being investigated against Mbodla had arose from a contract the alleged bogus doctor had with the Department of Correctional Services in Umzinto.
He said records police had obtained showed she had received R35 000 in payments from Correctional Services.
Pandarum said a correctional service staff member, who had become suspicious Mbodla was not a qualified doctor, had reported the matter to police. The official phoned the HPSCA and discovered she was not registered as a medical practitioner.
He said police would also attempt to track down the source of Mbodla's medicines.
Registered doctors in Umzinto have called for a thorough investigation, and expressed concern that they had never been approached to provide services at the local Correctional Services facility.
"There was no tender or contract advertised, or if it was, we were never informed," said Dr Yacob Kadwa, chairperson of the local Independent Practitioners Association representing doctors in the Umzinto and surrounding South Coast areas.
"It's an absolute disgrace that someone can walk up there without a qualification and get a government contract like this.
"Someone needs to be held accountable in Department of Health or Correctional Services for awarding a contact before checking on the person's credentials."
Kadwa said many registered doctors had put their name on a Correctional Services database of practitioners available to provide services at the Umzinto Prison on a roster basis, which would have also meant there would always be a doctor on standby, on a 24-hour basis to deal with emergency cases.
"This would be a far more sensible and equitable way to go about it, instead of just one person going up there regularly to treat prisoners."
Another doctor, who did not wish to be named, said one could only wonder at what kind of treatment prisoners might have received at the hands of an allegedly unqualified doctor.
He said the issue smacked of a 'jobs-for-pals' set-up.