Bogus medical student working at Mamelodi Hospital caught out

A 24-year-old man posing as a medical student and working at Mamelodi Hospital was only caught out after his friend snitched on him following a fallout.

The bogus student doctor started working at the hospital on September 29 in the accident and emergency unit. A month later, the jig was up as it was revealed he did not have the necessary qualifications.

According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the man was able to dupe the hospital by submitting fake documents purporting to be from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

“There was a communication, first, in a form of a telephonic call, then a letter bearing the name of the university and log book which were sent via email by a certain Professor Dongwe,” department spokesperson Kwara Kekana said.

Kekana added the man was not hired but rather placed as a medical student at the hospital and worked in the emergency unit under the supervision of senior medical officers.

Within a month of him working there, his friend turned on him.

“A close acquaintance of his alerted the hospital management after they had a fallout. She mentioned that he was using two different names and had two different IDs.

“The hospital called the university for verification and it had no knowledge of him,” Kekana said.

After the man was caught out, a case of impersonating a doctor and fraud was opened at the Mamelodi East police station. He was also barred from the hospital.

According to Kekana, the police said he had escaped arrest at a nearby guesthouse where he was staying and was still on the run.

The department conceded it was an oversight on the part of the personnel who was handling the matter. An incident report has been compiled and sent to the Tshwane district health services.

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