Subashni Naidoo: The Sunday Times

THE Health Professions' Council of South Africa has launched an investigation to verify the qualifications of more than 4 500 medical professionals working in government hospitals. The joint operation by the medical regulatory body, the Department of Health and the police, is believed to be one of the biggest audits ever undertaken in the medical profession. An inquiry by the council last year uncovered that 1 053 personnel, from paramedics to ambulance basic assistants, had fraudulent qualifications. The practitioners have since been deregistered by the council. The latest investigation - going back 10 years - will focus on finding foreign practitioners who are practising with fraudulent or unverifiable qualifications. According to its database, 1 359 foreign medical professionals registered between 2007 and December. The council described the probe as a "daunting but necessary task". The nationwide crackdown was triggered by the arrest of a Congolese doctor who worked as a neurosurgeon for about four years at several government facilities before the council discovered his fake credentials and deregistered him in December. The Health Department warned that council employees who assisted in illegally registering foreign practitioners would also come under scrutiny. Police spokesman Brigadier Lindela Mashigo said illegal practitioners would be charged.