THE SA Medical Association (SAMA) has expressed concern over the blurred lines between real doctors and imposters on social media.
This is after the damning actions by fong kong TikTok doctor, Matthew Lani.
The association believes that it is difficult to verify online "doctors" using the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) website, especially if they are using online handles instead of their full names.
“SAMA is of the view that these lines have been blurred on social media because it makes it difficult to distinguish between real doctors and imposters,” the chairman of SAMA, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, said.
Lani, best known for his viral TikTok videos, was cleared of charges of impersonating a medical personnel for a lack of evidence.
He was arrested at Helen Joseph Hospital in Joburg, where he claimed he works as a doctor.
Following Lani's incident, a string of other bogus doctors were exposed.
ALSO READ: Resign NOW, I'll pay your salary until 2026 - McKenzie
Kingsley Leeto Chele, accused of being a Facebook con artist who targeted women on Facebook by misrepresenting himself as a doctor or pharmacist and scamming them of money, was rearrested after escaping custody on 11 October.
Democratic Alliance ward councillor Abdulkader Elyas was called to resign after shocking claims about his alleged bogus medical qualifications surfaced in the media.
Mzukwa said such actions have left the health sector vulnerable, further placing it at risk.
Meanwhile, the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union has criticised the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) for its chaotic state and failure to deal decisively with people with fake educational credentials and employed in public health.
“The GDoH must learn lessons from this incident because this scandal has exposed several glaring weaknesses in the administration of the department,” said the union.
The union demanded that all security workers must be insourced and permanently employed to address the issue of crime in clinics and healthcare facilities.
