Concern over fake doctors
Johannesburg – Following the arrest of several bogus health practitioners last week, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) says it is concerned with the increasing number of such criminals.
The HPCSA says health practitioners, including medical doctors, dentists, dieticians and physiotherapists have to renew their registration annually by 1 April.
Dr Raymond Billa of HPCSA said: “If they are registered with us then we have jurisdiction over them, but if they are not registered with us, we have no jurisdiction and there is no way we can protect the public because we need to know who is practicing, and whether they are fully registered with the HPCSA and they gave the correct qualifications.”
Billa added that health practitioners should display a registration certificate in their offices to indicate their name, qualification and whether they are registered with the HPCSA or not.
