ZIMBABWE | Parirenyatwa Hospital is actively combating the presence of bogus medical practitioners and tutors within its premises, resulting in the arrest of 11 individuals over the past four months. The spotlight fell on the hospital recently following the apprehension of a fake doctor, Blessing Nyanzira, by Parirenyatwa’s security personnel. The institution has become a focal point for counterfeit medical professionals who exploit unsuspecting patients.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Parirenyatwa Hospital disclosed that additional bogus doctors had been apprehended on its premises. In 2023, the hospital’s Security Department apprehended 33 individuals posing as doctors or tutors.

“Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has consistently endeavoured to protect the public from unscrupulous individuals posing as our staff with the malicious intent to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. In 2023 alone, our Security Department apprehended 33 offenders.

“Since January 2024, our department has handled 11 similar cases and dealt with them accordingly. Among those apprehended are bogus doctors, fraudulent tutors who exploit prospective student nurses, and thieves who target both staff members and patients,” the statement read.

Parirenyatwa Hospital further clarified that the most recent three bogus doctors had not provided any medical treatment to patients.

“Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals is a large institution employing nearly 400 doctors of various professional levels and approximately 4000 staff members in total.

“Unscrupulous individuals exploit our size and complexity to engage in nefarious activities. Thankfully, our Surveillance Teams remain vigilant and have consistently apprehended these troublemakers attempting to infiltrate and abuse our systems.

“We want to assure the public that investigations conducted by the hospital have confirmed that the three recently apprehended fake doctors did not attend to any patients,” the statement concluded.