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Speaking to Mmegi in an interview yesterday, Boitshoko disclosed that they have had incidents in which expatriates seeking employment, as health professionals, have presented forged certificates. Hospitals and other health facilities in the country are currently struggling with a shortage of medical doctors and other qualified health professionals. As early as the 1990s, the MoH started detecting cases of expatriates with forged qualifications. Boitshoko warned those who were still bent on cheating the system that the doors were closed to them. Even though he could not remember all the cases off head, he suspects there are currently cases that are still under investigation. "Just last year, the Botswana Nursing Council was investigating a suspected case of forgery by an expatriate nurse, who had shown a lot of incompetence in her duties." He was not sure how the case was completed. Nursing Council of Botswana registrar, Catherine Nkarabang said yesterday that the case she remembers is one that is still pending before the courts in which the qualifications of an expatriate nurse were questioned. "We continue watching these things closely," she asserted. Mmegi is in possession of a document emanating from the UK in which the Health Professional Council (HPC) there suspended a former expatriate employee of the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital, Josphat Mwilaria - a senior II radiographer - from duty for 'incompetence' ."The investigation into his fitness to practice was sparked by reports of his misconduct and lack of competence whilst employed by the Royal Orthopaedic NHS Trust in Birmingham," reads a report in the Synergy News of March 2006. It further shows that the HPC's conduct and competence committee heard evidence from five witnesses who were employed at the trust alongside Mwilaria. Amongst others, evidence led reveals that: "Whilst imaging a patient's ankle, he unnecessarily subjected the patient to considerable radiation exposure (estimated to be as high as 85 times the normal exposure." Mwilaria is also alleged to have demonstrated a lack of competence in theatre imaging and his ability to handle the mobile image intensifier and positioning during examinations was lacking. He worked at the trust from September 2003 to April 2004. NRH superintendent, Dr Japhter Masunge confirmed that Mwilaria was employed by the hospital between 2000-2002. His contract was later renewed until he left on his own accord for greener pastures. "He resigned from NRH whilst serving his second contract," explained Masunge. Last year, he appeared at the hospital seeking temporary appointment, but the hospital did not have sufficient funds to employ him. A lot of questions remain as to how Mwilaria could have been declared competent in Botswana, only to fail the test in the UK. Could the recruitment procedures be loose here? Boitshoko explains the MoH recruitment procedures: "The issue is that when a person is recruited, we get all their credentials, we get their transcripts, which are signed by schools where the applicant trained. We also get certified copies of their certificates and two references." They also request for positive and valid identity cards. For a health professional, the recruitment panel requests a licence from the regulatory body where he/she previously served, to establish their authenticity. "Here and there, there are people who still manage to beat this system," he confesses. Boitshoko cannot remember any incident where a health professional had their contract terminated because of incompetence. He vowed that the MoH would continue to ensure that people holding bogus qualifications do not find their way into the country's health system. Main opposition, Botswana National Front (BNF) is concerned that after 40 years, Botswana is still grappling with a serious shortage of health professionals. BNF secretary for health affairs, Nomsa Sebataladi observed that it was time the government acted to attract local health professionals working abroad. "The government should make conditions attractive for Botswana medical doctors, nurses and other health professionals to return home and add value to the country's health system," said Sebataladi. She stressed that after 40 years of independence, it was a pity that Botswana does not have a medical school to train health professionals. "Recently, the country had difficulties controlling an outbreak of diarrhoea, which resulted in a number of toddlers' deaths in the country." She stressed that the health system of any country was vital and must be given the attention it deserves.
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