HARARE – Parirenyatwa Group of Hospital says it is battling a pandemic of a different kind: bogus doctors walking the hospital’s passages with criminal intent.

Between January and April this year, the hospital says it dealt with 11 cases of fake doctors who apparently give themselves false identities in order to fleece patients and staff.

In 2023, the hospital said 33 bogus doctors were reported to the police.

“In 2023 alone, 33 offenders were picked up by our security department. From January 2024 to date, 11 cases of this nature have been picked up by the same department and dealt with accordingly. Bogus doctors, bogus tutors who extort prospective student nurses and thieves who steal from both staff members and patients are some of those criminals who have been picked up and handed over to the police,” the hospital said in a statement on Tuesday.

Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has close to 400 doctors and a total staff complement of close to 4,000, it said.

“Unscrupulous people take advantage of our vastness and complexity to carry out nefarious activities. Fortunately, our surveillance teams remain vigilant and have always apprehended these unruly elements who try to penetrate and abuse our systems,” said the hospital.

In April alone, three fake doctors were intercepted at the hospital but authorities said they did not see any patients.

“We would like to assure members of the public that the investigations carried out by the hospital have established that the three recently arrested fake doctors did not manage any patient. Our surveillance teams shall continue to flush out criminals bent on abusing public trust in our institution,” said Parirenyatwa.

Last week, a fake doctor was arrested at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals barely a fortnight after another man masquerading as a gynaecologist was nabbed by an alert security officer.

On April 15, Andrew Mapulanga, 52, was arrested at Parirenyatwa Hospital and subsequently appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi facing a charge of possession of articles for criminal use.

Two days later, Douglas Garikayi Mutoredzanwa was arrested after he was observed holding X-Ray results upside down at the hospital.

On 25 April, Blessing Nyanzira, 24, was arrested at the hospital as he tried to walk past a staff security checkpoint during the lunch hour break.