The deputy manager at the East London Hospital Complex (ELHC), known for its high infant mortality rates, is a fraud convict who has served time in a United States prison, the Independent Online reported on Sunday.
Dr Nokuzola Ntshona — who was a flower girl at Madiba’s wedding — was convicted in 1996 by a New York court for fraudulent healthcare claims in the early 1990s.
She was found guilty of conspiring to defraud the US Department of Health to the tune of almost R3-million, for which she served a 30-month prison sentence.
When contacted by Weekend Argus, Ntshona confirmed the allegations were true.
Ntshona studied medicine at the Howard University in Washington DC and later specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology in Brooklyn, New York. She returned to South Africa in 2002 after a 31-year stint abroad.
Upon her return she worked as a senior lecturer at the Mthatha General Hospital, before taking up employment at the Polokwane Hospital in Limpopo as an obstetrician.
Her days at Polokwane were short-lived, however, and 15 months into her employment she was fired.
”We just didn’t see eye to eye,” she claims.
”You know, I think I will always have difficulty holding down a job in South Africa because I am such an outspoken person.”
She was erased from the register of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) on the first occasion because she failed to pay her fees. Reasons for the second erasure couldn’t be confirmed.
According to a spokesperson of the HPCSA, her reinstatement was conditional on the fact that she work under supervision.
Ntshona was employed by the East London Hospital in mid-May and appointed to the position of superintendent of the Cecilia Makiwne Hospital and deputy manager of the ELHC, which also includes Frere Hospital.
Although the CEO of the complex, Yuyo Mosana, and Ntshona’s immediate boss, Dr Pandey, claim to be unaware of her criminal past, the 55-year-old medic told Weekend Argus she did not withhold any information during her application, ”and answered yes to the question which asked if I had a criminal record”.
The two hospitals fell into disrepute last month when a media investigation exposed high infant mortality rates and questionable standards. — Sapa