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- The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has nabbed several healthcare practitioners for operating illegally.
- Four unregistered healthcare practitioners have been arrested this year.
- The council, working with police, conducted random inspections at medical facilities.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has clamped down on several healthcare practitioners for operating illegally.
Its investigations have resulted in the arrest of four illegal healthcare practitioners this year.
In June, the council said it had arrested 124 bogus doctors from different provinces in a period of three years.
HPCSA spokesperson Christopher Tsatsawane said that in collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS), a random inspection was conducted at a medical facility in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where it was discovered that one man was practising as a medical doctor while not registered with the council.
He said: "[The suspect] was also found selling scheduled four, five and six medicine, which is the medication that is only available with a prescription and needs professional diagnosis and management. He was arrested and is due to appear in court."
He said the infraction, regarding issuing scheduled medicines, had been referred to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
The council arrested two bogus practitioners in Kuruman, Northern Cape and Johannesburg.
"In Kuruman, a Congolese national was found practising as a medical practitioner while not registered with the council. During the inspection, we discovered that he had worked at the medical practice registered to Dr TK Gopane since January 2022," he said.
According to the council, the HPCSA's inspectorate office arrested a bogus practitioner who impersonated a registered practitioner and illegally used her registration credentials to practise in April.
READ | More than 120 fake doctors arrested in SA over three years, health council confirms
"Dr Lesne Pucjlowski alerted the HPCSA that an unknown person was using her details, including her name, identity number and registration, to secure a job in Cape Town. Upon discovering the fraud, the recruitment agency that facilitated the employment dismissed him and notified Dr Pucjlowski of the fraud," he said.
He said the HPCSA's inspectorate office, in collaboration with a Johannesburg-based recruitment agency and the police, arrested the suspect after they lured him to an interview for another job placement, and he applied using Dr Pucjlowski's information.
The council said that under interrogation, the suspect, a Zimbabwean citizen with no valid passport, conceded that he was an impostor.
"He was found with a CV and a fake identity document with his picture but with Dr Pucjlowski's details. He was arrested and detained at Douglasdale police for fraud and contravention of Section 17 and Section 40 of the Health Professions Act, 56 of 1974."
Meanwhile, a bogus dentist doctor in Polokwane was also arrested following a probe by HPCSA.
The HPCSA said it was mandated to protect the public and guide the professions through enforcement and compliance from the practitioners in line with the provisions of the Health Professions Act.
Residents were encouraged to continue reporting all suspected illegal practices by unregistered persons.
"Registered practitioners should be careful and extra vigilant with their personal information and report all suspected illegal practices by unregistered persons," he said.
