Aspiring nurses flock to UBH after fake advert
SCORES of aspiring nurses were turned away by officials at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) after they tried to submit applications following a fake advertisement that has been circulating on social media.
The fake advert, which had been circulating on social media in the past two weeks, called for those interested in enrolling for a Diploma in General Nursing to apply for the 2017 intake before November 28, 2016.
According to the fake advert, the hospital would select students for the January, May and September 2017 intakes.
UBH chief executive officer Mrs Nonhlanhla Ndlovu confirmed the incident yesterday, saying a number of people fell prey to the hoax while others had been phoning to verify the authenticity of the advert.
“I’m aware that there’s an advert that has been circulating on social media calling on people to apply for enrolment at the UBH School of Nursing. People were phoning to find out if it was true but others applied and were turned away when they tried to submit their applications.
“I’m not sure how many people came to the hospital because most of them go straight to the Human Resources Department but quite a number came today because the fake advert had indicated November 28 as the deadline for submission,” said Mrs Ndlovu.
She said the hospital had already enrolled students for the 2017 intake and would advertise next year for the 2018 intake.
Mrs Ndlovu advised members of the public to verify such information with the hospital before applying, adding that the hospital advertises officially in newspapers.
“Aspiring nurses should look out for adverts in The Herald, The Chronicle, The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News. Anything relating to the hospital circulating on social media is a hoax and should be ignored,” she said.
Some of the people who went to the hospital with their applications said they were shocked when the hospital authorities told them that the advert was a hoax.
“I received the advert from a friend on Whatsapp last week. It looked authentic. I prepared my application before taking it to the hospital. I found scores of people waiting at the administration and joined them.
“I was shocked when in a few minutes, a lady told us that she was not taking our envelopes because the School of Nursing had not called for applications,” said Ms Fisokuhle Ncube.
She said the woman said they had been turning away people for the past two weeks following the circulation of the advert on social media.
“We stood in front of her in shock and she told us not to leave our envelopes because she would burn them. As we left the hospital, more people carrying envelopes kept on coming and hoping that their envelopes would be accepted,” said Ms Ncube.
Another “applicant” Ms Dalubuhle Mabuya said the person who invented the advert copied the traditional UBH advert and simply changed the dates.
“We can all be forgiven for thinking the advert was real because it was written in a professional manner and had the information required by an applicant,” said Ms Mabuya. — @pamelashumba1