Allegations state a Tunisian doctor apparently has no degree

NELSPRUIT – A Tunisian doctor may have been working without qualifications in a local hospital since 2008. This is according to COPE Mpumalanga provincial head of communications, Mr Riot Hlatshwayo.

He said a general practitioner from Tunisia may have worked at the Tintswalo Hospital in Acornhoek without the necessary qualifications allowing him to serve as a doctor and the Provincial Department of Health and Social Development was fully aware of this.

“A fact-finding mission by COPE in Mpumalanga has revealed that the department was aware about this possibility since June this year and even instituted what it called a ‘highly prioritised’ investigations against the doctor at the time.”

The party accused the department of putting the lives of thousands of patients at risk by apparently allowing the foreigner to continue working while an investigation against him was ongoing.

“The qualifications of this doctor became the subject of the ‘highly prioritised’ investigation by the department after ‘privileged’ information suggesting that he was not in possession of a degree certificate.”

Hlatshwayo said, before an investigation started, Mr Ronnie Masilela (spokesman for the department), claimed that the practitioner was qualified and in possession of the necessary certificate allowing him to practice.

“Masilela has emailed a number of documents related to the doctor’s qualifications and his registration to the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA,) showing that he had been working in this hospital since 2008, but failed to provide copies of his degree.”

According to Hlatshwayo, Masilela said they further suggested that the doctor’s academic training was for a single year, from 1996 to 1997, while his internship was done earlier, from 1992 to 1994.

“The academic years for doctors in South African institutions are six with the seventh year reserved for internship.” Asked if the documents made sense to the department and how possible it was for an internship to be completed before academic training, apparently Masilela could only say the papers were forming part of the department’s preliminary investigation.

Hlatshwayo stated that Masilela said, “What has been given to you forms part of the preliminary investigation which necessitated a further one which is now underway. It has been given the highest priority.”

Meanwhile COPE had also established that the acting CEO of the hospital, Ms Merriam Moyimane, allegedly asked the doctor to provide her with his following an order from the provincial head office.

Hlatshwayo said the party had, however, learnt that the general practitioner had instead submitted leave forms apparently with the intention to leave the country for a while hoping the matter would be laid to rest.

The doctor is further accused of failing to sign monitoring tools intended to show the number of patients he might have seen in a single day as required by the hospital’s standing rules and regulations.

According to Hlatshwayo, Masilela refused to answer any questions related to this but rather insisted the question would form part of the department’s investigations against the doctor.

He could neither explain why he was not suspended from work as a precautionary measure pending the investigation against him.

“If there is any doubt about the qualifications, he must be suspended immediately because for him to continue treating patients under such a cloud is a huge risk for the patients in Tintswalo Hospital,” said COPE provincial secretary, Mr Sizile Ndlovu.

When Lowvelder requested a copy of the doctors qualifications from Masilela, the paper was told that they were personal documents and not for the eyes of readers. The newspaper responded by pointing out that all doctors normally keep these qualifications on their walls for all their patients to view and could not be deemed private.

Masilela then responded by emailing an official statement, “As the department of health, we confirm that the doctor is employed by the department as a medical officer grade three (previously known as chief medical officer) at Tintswalo Hospital. He has been with the department since 2010. According to the documents at our disposal,the said doctor is a qualified medical practitioner and is also registered with the HPCSA.”

As of going to print, Lowvelder had still not received a copy of the said doctor’s official qualification.