Health Professions Council warns fake health practitioners

THE Health Professions Council of Zambia (HPCZ) has warned peo ple who are operating as health practitioners without a licence to stop or risk being sent to jail upon conviction.

HPCZ senior public relations officer, Terry Musonda said they will continue to ensure that the public was protected from unsafe practices in the health profession and those found contravening the Health Professions Act brought to book.

Mr Musonda who wel comed the recent con viction and sentencing of Reuben Mumba, a Grade 11 school dropout of Mpulungu who was masquerading as a health practitioner and operat ing a health facility with out a licence.

He said it was their hope that the convic tion and sentencing of Mumba would serve as a deterrent to would be offenders.

Mr Musonda ex plained that in October 2021, HPCZ working with the Zambia Police, Drug Enforcement Commission and the District Health Office dis covered Mumba in his grocery store attempting to inject a drug namely gentamycin into a pa tient who presented com plaints of a sexually trans mitted infection.

He said Mumba was not a registered health prac titioner neither was his grocery store a licensed health facility and there fore acted contrary to the Health Professions Act.

“He pleaded guilty to both charges and the court sentenced him to a fine, in default of which he would serve nine months imprisonment,” he said. Mr Musonda said HPCZ would contin ue to monitor operations of all health facilities and conduct of health practi tioners for the promotion of compliance to National Healthcare Standards.