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The University of Limpopo (UL) has come out guns blazing to defend its integrity against yet another self-proclaimed healthcare worker who claims she attained her pharmacy degree from the institution.
This after a woman called Nthabiseng Ramokolo stated in her LinkedIn account that not only was she a holder of a master's degree from UL, but she was also a Dis-Chem employee.
On her Facebook page, Ramoloko is seen clad in medical scrubs bearing the UL logo and her name. According to her Facebook profile, she studied a for bachelor of pharmacy at UL's School of Health Sciences.
Following the university's examination of its records, it vehemently stated that Ramokolo was not a UL graduate, and in fact was never a student at the institution. It added that the claims that were doing the rounds on social media that she was a master’s student were false.
In a statement, the university said:
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This follows last week’s blast exposure of "Lani" (aka Matthew Zingelwa, aka Sanele Zingelwa, aka Bongani Zingelwa), who was masquerading as a doctor. This led to Wits University, where he claimed to have obtained his degree from, distancing itself. The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) also said he was not a registered medical practitioner.
Meanwhile, the executive dean of Health Sciences at UL, Professor Mothiba, said: "The records of the university do not contain any information on Ramokolo, and our faculty members, as well as current and former students also confirm that they have never met her before."
UL further said that the use of its name and logo to represent a qualification was unlawful and that the university had the right to take whatever action necessary to protect itself as well as the credibility of its qualifications.
Dis-Chem also dissociated itself from Ramokolo, who included them as a company she currently works for in her LinkedIn profile.
We can confirm that we do not have anyone by the name of "NthaBiseng Ramokolo" employed by the Dis-Chem group. We believe the LinkedIn account information listed on this profile to be inaccurate.
— Dis-Chem (@Dischem) October 12, 2023
The SA Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) expressed its deep concern after this exposure to the increasing number of incidents related to unqualified individuals masquerading as healthcare professionals and offering healthcare services to members of the public.
"With the rising use of social media and the public’s increasing consumption of content from these platforms, this issue has amplified, as unscrupulous individuals continue taking advantage of this space to mislead the public with unauthorised and potentially harmful medical advice," the union’s general secretary, Cedric Sihlangu, said.
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He conceded that what was of concern was that the national department of health and various councils that regulate healthcare professionals, such as the HPCSA, were not doing much to curb this problem.
"Samatu believes that every South African has the right to safe, effective, and accredited medical care. To this effect, we call on the department of health and all the councils that regulate healthcare professionals in the country to enforce more rigorous vetting processes for healthcare workers. This includes mandating registered professionals to display their credentials prominently and making accreditation information easily accessible to the public."
