Authorities pounce on ‘bogus’ health practitioners
The public is urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the HPCSA via email at [email protected].
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is intensifying its efforts to combat bogus and unregistered practitioners. This is evident in a significant increase in the number of arrests by the Inspectorate Office.
In the latest operation, members of the Inspectorate Office of the HPCSA, in collaboration with law enforcement officials, arrested one more individual for practising while not registered with the council. Officials, investigating a complaint of an unregistered person practising in the Durban Central area, discovered that 39-year-old Zinhle Precious Buthelezi was practising illegally.
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The HPCSA said Buthelezi violated section 17 (1) of the Health Professions Act, 56 of 1974, by providing healthcare services without being registered with the HPCSA. The investigation also revealed that Buthelezi had been advertising services as a legitimate medical practitioner on various popular social media sites.
Upon arrest, she was detained at Durban Central SAPS, denied bail by the magistrate court, and is expected to make another court appearance soon. In a separate incident in Sydenham authorities discovered Dr Poto Dambo Parfait allegedly practising while not registered with the council as a medical practitioner. Parfait was arrested for illegal medical practice and detained at Sydenham SAPS.
During his initial court appearance, he was denied bail and is scheduled to appear in court again at a later stage. During the 2023/24 financial year, 24 illegal medical practitioners were arrested nationwide.
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Since the current financial year began in April to date, 10 more arrests have already been made. The HPCSA hopes the arrests and possible prosecutions will serve as a strong deterrent to the potential offenders.
The public is urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the HPCSA via email at [email protected]. Additionally, individuals can verify the registration status of medical practitioners by using the ‘Search the Register’ tool on the HPCSA website or by contacting the call centre at 012 338-9300/1.
