Durban - An Effingham Heights doctor was assaulted while his patients and staff were held up during a robbery at his surgery on Thursday afternoon.
Doctor Kistensamy Govender, 64, is the fourth doctor in the last two weeks to be robbed.
His wife, Shirley Govender, said their security gate was opened because they had a technician fixing their phone lines.
This she believes gave they robbers an opportunity to enter the premises undetected.
"My husband was consulting with a patient in his rooms and I was with the technician in another room. Our receptionist and the patient's husband was in the waiting room."
The grandmother of two said around 5.15pm three armed men rushed into the waiting room.
"When the receptionist saw them she pressed the panic button. One suspect grabbed the patient's husband robbing him of his wallet and cash. Another suspected dragged the receptionist's out of her desk and brought both of them to the room I was in."
Govender said they were all made to sit on the floor with their heads down.
"They went to my husband's consultation room and brought him and the patient to us. They demanded we give them our jewellery and wanted access to our safe. One of the suspects began assaulting my husband with the butt of his gun. He began bleeding."
Govender said he told the robbers the safe was in their home, which is above the surgery.
"We were all made to get up and to the house. They ransacked the safe taking all the jewellery. As they were fleeing the pulled out the recorder from the CCTV footage."
Govender said the ordeal lasted about 15 minutes but felt like a lifetime.
"My husband sustained a stitch to the head. He is doing well despite the ordeal. These were young, well dressed and well-spoken men. Even though we did not put up a fight they were very aggressive and violent against up."
Govender advised other medical facilities to beef up their security as she believed surgeries were now being targeted.
On Tuesday, a doctor, his receptionist, security guard, and 8 patients were held at gunpoint at a surgery in Lenham.
Last week two surgeries, one in Westham and Whetstone came under attack.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said all four incidents were reported and cases of robbery were opened.