A woman has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a medical doctor and trying to solicit a R700 bribe from a patient at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital on Sunday night.
An escort of the patient was asked to pay R700 for the “medical doctor” to assist the patient, according to Motalatale Modiba, a spokesperson for the Gauteng health department.
The escort grew suspicious, according to Modiba, when the impostor woman, who was wearing green scrubs and had the name Dr Zulu printed on her uniform, told her to meet at the pedestrian gate where the payment would be made.
The public is warned of fake doctors
“The Gauteng department of health would like to warn the public not to fall prey to bogus healthcare practitioners who try to solicit bribes before ‘allegedly’ offering their so-called services,” said Modiba.
“The warning comes after a person impersonating a medical doctor was nabbed at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital on Sunday night after they demanded that an escort pay R700 for the ‘Dr’ to assist the patient.
“The escort notified the security personnel, who eventually apprehended the bogus doctor at the hospital’s pedestrian gate.
“When asked to produce her Health Professional Council of South Africa [HPCSA] registration number and a persal number by the security and facility management, the bogus doctor was unable to do so.”
He said the hospital has since opened a case at the Diepkloof police station.
The fake medical doctor spent a night in police custody and was due to appear at the Orlando magistrate’s court on Monday afternoon.
Be vigilant of scams
“The department urges the public to be vigilant by not falling for such scams. The healthcare workers in the facilities will never ask members of the public to pay them directly,” Modiba said.
“If there are any fees payable in the hospital, this will be done at patient administration, and an invoice will be issued to indicate exactly what the patient is paying for.”
An elderly man was arrested in December for pretending to be a doctor, even though the HPCSA had removed him from the register nearly 10 years ago.
The Western Cape High Court denied him bail, citing a high likelihood that he would commit additional crimes and fail to appear in court.
Source: Sunday World
