Durban - OPPOSITION parties have called for a thorough internal investigation into how a 23-year-old woman allegedly posed as a medical student at various public health-care facilities around the province.
Nokwanda Ndlovu is reported to have consulted and treated patients in Nongoma, Nkandla, Hlabisa and Hammarsdale near Pietermaritzburg between November 2017 and December 2019.
Ndlovu, from Jozini, was arrested for various counts of fraud last year and was released on R1000 bail.
IFP health spokesperson Ncamisile Nkwanyana said the party was shocked and dismayed to learn about the allegations.
“We question the competence of the management of the hospitals concerned. For years patients in various hospitals have complained about the shoddy medical care provided by intern doctors, with some patients even left with a lifelong disability. The lives of unsuspecting patients were subjected to risk and health hazards by the department.”
When contacted for comment yesterday, Ndlovu at first hung up. A second call was answered by an unidentified woman who asked that the family be given space as they had been traumatised by the matter.
DA spokesperson for health Dr Rishigen Viranna said he had received information that the woman allegedly not only worked as a medical student but also as a medical intern treating patients.
“We have also received information that this is not an isolated incident, there was a similar fake doctor in Vryheid Hospital as well. This indicates that the department’s screening and verification processes are failing dismally. Every doctor and medical student must be registered with the Health Professions Council of SA. Anyone can go to the HPCSA website and check whether a doctor is truly qualified and registered,” Viranna said.
He said medical students working in hospitals needed a letter from their medical school to the department to work in government facilities.
Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said the department was conducting its own investigation into the matter, and it was now sub judice.
Daily News