Durban - A locum practising as a medical practitioner while not registered with the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) has been arrested.
The Congolese national was arrested on Tuesday during a routine inspection in Adelaide, Eastern Cape.
Mamadiga Mamabolo, HPCSA’s inspector in the Eastern Cape, said Ilunga Mwenze had been employed by a registered practitioner, Dr CE Onwughara, who had since taken full-time employment at Addington Hospital in Durban.
“We found (Mwenze) busy with a patient and we waited until he was done. Once he was done, he was upfront with us and said he was not registered. He started working there in January 2019.
“What’s disturbing is that he doesn’t have an ID, passport or proof of qualification. How many patients has he treated?
“If anything happened to one or more of those patients and he decides to skip the country, how would the authorities track him down? This was a very dangerous situation for the unsuspecting patients,” Mamabolo said yesterday.
Adelaide police said Mwenze was yet to apply for bail.
Mamabolo warned members of the public to consult health-care professionals whose credibility was known.
In the case of new practitioners, the public is advised to check their status with the HPCSA first to ascertain the health-care professional’s authenticity.
Council officials are to get a statement from Onwughara.
“He could be fined or suspended depending on the statement explaining his actions,” said Mamabolo.
Attempts to get comment from Onwughara were unsuccessful.
The South African Police have warned the public to seek medical attention from reputable health services.