Mathew Masinge
ON average, about two or three bogus doctors per month have been nabbed at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in the last 16 months.
The troubling statistics show that more needs to be done to stop this rot.
Hospital authorities say none of these rogue individuals had any access to patients.
A staggering 44 cases of fake doctors have been recorded at the institution in the past 16 months alone.
In a statement, Parirenyatwa said between January and April this year, they have dealt with 11 cases of bogus doctors who were caught by their security personnel.
These individuals were either caught in possession of drugs or doing doctors’ rounds with fake identities.
How the culprits manage to infiltrate checkpoints remains a cause for concern.
“We would like to assure members of the public that the investigations carried out by the hospital have established that the three recently arrested fake doctors did not manage any patient.
“Our surveillance teams shall continue to flush out criminals bent on abusing public trust in our institution.
“In 2023 alone, 33 offenders were picked up by our security department.
“From January 2024 to date, 11 cases of this nature have been picked up by the same department and dealt with accordingly.
“Bogus doctors, bogus tutors who extort prospective student nurses and thieves who steal from both staff members and patients are some of those criminals who have been picked up and handed over to the police,” said Parirenyatwa.
Last month, police arrested Felix Tagonera who was masquerading as a gynaecologist.
Andrew Mapulanga (52) also appeared in court on April 15 facing a charge of possession of articles for criminal use. Two days later, Douglas Mutoredzanwa was arrested at the hospital after he was caught holding X-Ray results upside down.
Recently, Blessing Nyanzira (24) tried to walk past a staff security checkpoint during the lunch hour break before he was caught.
The pandemic seems to have also hit a number of Southern African countries with the culprits targeting major hospitals.
Cases have been recorded in Malawi and South Africa where a 36-year-old man who had failed a doctor’s undergraduate programme interview applied for a post to become one.
He was later arrested after posing as a doctor at Malmed Clinic in Blantyre, Malawi.