A bogus doctor who allegedly confessed to operating an illegal mobile clinic in the Eastern Cape has been arrested along with his two unqualified nurses, police said on Thursday.
”The doctor was arrested on Tuesday after agreeing to meet with police. He confessed that he was not a registered doctor and apologised,” said Captain Mduduzi Godlwana.
Police reacted after receiving complaints from some unqualified nurses when the 25-year-old man failed to pay them salaries as he had promised.
”Some of the nurses claim they were hired in December last year in KwaZulu-Natal while doing their practicals and haven’t been paid since.
”They were told they would be staffed at mobile clinics in the Eastern Cape where they would go around the villages and look for patients,” said Godlwana.
During their recruitment, the nurses allegedly parted with between R500 to R1600 for application forms, R500 for a uniform and R600 for certificates.
Godlwana said patients were allegedly charged R150 for their first visit at the clinic and R50 for follow-up visits.
”The same medicine, drawn from a broken cup, and the same syringe was used for every patient who visited the clinic, no matter what sickness they had.”
The provincial health department said it had referred the matter to the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
”A pharmacist will be sent to establish whether the medicine used was not stolen from government,” said spokesman Sizwe Kupelo.
He said ”it does not look like” department employees were involved in the syndicate but they would investigate.
”Some of the nurses were apparently provided by an unregistered college in Lusikisiki,” said Kupelo.
He said patients who were treated in this mobile clinic could lay a complaint with the HPCSA.
Meanwhile, the bogus doctor implicated a number of officials from the KwaZulu-Natal health department.
Godlwana said the man said to be the mastermind behind the fraud had since left the country.
The Toyota Quantum, used as the mobile clinic, and various medicines were confiscated.
The three arrested people would appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court soon, on charges of fraud and impersonation.
More arrests were imminent, said Godlwana. — Sapa