The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has urged members of the public to always verify the credentials of their healthcare practitioner before parting with their hard-earned money.
This after a joint operation by the police and the HPCSA led to the arrest of a nurse who had been parading as a medical doctor in Bela Bela, Mpumalanga.
In a statement on Friday, the HPCSA said a registered nurse was employed at the late Dr Navemba Nambi’s practice where she was recruited by Megalhaes Fernando Nambi, the husband of the deceased.
Christopher Tsatsawane, head of corporate affairs at HPCSA, said the council and the police discovered that the husband had organised for the nurse to continue practising under the name “Dr Nambi and Partners”.
This while the late doctor’s registration had been terminated in 2021 following her death.
“Mr Nambi and Ms Caliva [the nurse] were both arrested for fraud, and they were detained at Bela-Bela SAPS,” said Tsatsawane.
He advised members of the public to search for their healthcare practitioners online and on the HPCSA register to verify their credentials.
People can also request the practising card of the healthcare practitioner, he said, which the practitioner is obligated to present all the time.
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