Illegal surgeon still operating
Unregistered doctor practises at military hospital
A DOCTOR working as an orthopaedic surgeon at South Africa’s top military hospital has been doing so illegally for more than a decade.
This week Dr Rajeshwar Bhawani scrambled to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. But serious questions remain over how he has been allowed to practise while not registered — and work as a surgeon although records show he is qualified only as a general practitioner.
The Sunday Times has established that Bhawani has operated not only on soldiers since at least 2000, but also on government VIPs from other African countries.
Messages left for Bhawani at 1 Military Hospital seeking his comment were not returned and two staffers at the orthopaedic ward refused to give out his cellphone number. They confirmed he was in surgery on Thursday.
Council spokeswoman Bertha Peters-Scheepers said Bhawani was “erased” from the register between June 29 1999 and August 6 2013 because he did not pay the registration fees. This meant that during this period he was not allowed to work as a doctor. She said the sanctions for noncompliance with registration requirements or operating outside the scope of qualifications ranged from being banned from practising to being fined an amount determined by the council.
This week, Bhawani paid his annual fees dating back to 1999 as well as restoration fees of more than R10 000.
But the council has already begun an investigation. “This matter will now be investigated to determine why he was not registered and whether proper procedures were followed to reinstate him,” said PetersScheepers.
A doctor at the military hospital in Pretoria, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Dr Bhawani is well known in the orthopaedics department and has been here for years. I, for one, had no idea he’s not registered.”
The doctor said there could be serious implications for the mil-
There seems to be no control in the department and no proper checks
itary in cases of complaints against unregistered doctors.
“To qualify for insurance you have to be registered. This means that, in a worst-case scenario, a botched operation could result in a big damages claim not only against the doctor, but also against the military who employed him,” the doctor said.
The national secretary of the South African National Defence Union, Pikkie Greeff, said the issue raised serious questions about the integrity of the armed forces’ health component.
“One would expect that the credentials of individuals would be double-checked, because in the military mistakes cost lives. It is negligent to the extreme and is nothing else than failed command and control.”
Greeff said the army had been guilty in the past of dragging its feet on issues. “If the SANDF is serious about projecting a professional management, it will not evade this issue as it usually does but take immediate drastic steps . . . How many other people are masquerading as qualified professionals in the essential medical component of our defence?”
Professor Theo le Roux, under whose supervision Bhawani had been working at the military hospital, said he too would be looking into the issue.
But Le Roux, a past president of the South African Orthopaedic Association, said he suspected a bungle on the council’s part. “Dr Bhawani is an incredibly good doctor and has only received praise from his colleagues and patients. There are a number of things I want to get to the bottom of,” he said.
According to two doctors employed by the South African Military Health Services, Bhawani is not the only one whose paperwork was not in order.
“When an audit was done earlier this year, they found that several doctors had incomplete files and things like copies of their degrees and complete CVs were missing. There seems to be no control in the department and no proper checks on who is employed here,” one said.
Another doctor said he did not believe the council had bungled. “Any doctor will tell you it is your responsibility to make sure you are registered.”