A GP practicing in Cape Town has rejected claims that he has been masquerading as a gynaecologist.
|||Cape Town - A Cape Town GP has rejected claims made in a TV programme that he is masquerading as a gynaecologist.
“I’m just a GP who has interests in obstetrics and gynaecology,” said Dr Ganesh Anil Anirudhra, who was back behind his stethoscope in a Cape Town clinic on Monday after Sunday’s exposé on Carte Blanche.
The TV programme featured a sign outside his practice reading “gynaecologist”. It had been removed by the time the Cape Argus visited this week.
Anirudhra said his lawyers had sent the editor of Carte Blanche an e-mail accusing them of humiliating, victimising and defaming him. But Carte Blanche’s executive producer, George Mazarakis, said they had received no communication from Anirudhra since the airing.
Anirudhra has been charged with 319 counts of fraud in connection with defrauding medical schemes as well as the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund.
He is also being investigated by the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) over allegations of “practising outside his scope of practice”, a criminal offence.
On Wednesday, Anirudhra, who is registered with the HPCSA as a medical practitioner, told the Cape Argus he was not guilty of the claims made against him - and alleged he was the victim of a conspiracy by a former employer.
“I’m an over-qualified GP who has interests in obstetrics and gynaecology. I studied at the University of Limpopo and passed my final exam in obstetrics and gynaecology, but because I had a fallout with my chief supervisor at the hospital I was not able to obtain my degree.”
However, Carte Blanche reported that Anirudhra had never completed his degree in gynaecology and had misdiagnosed patients.
Anirudhra denied this. He said he had worked at hospitals in Cape Town and had delivered babies. In the two months of having his own practice he had not had any complaints. “It’s humiliating that these claims are being made and it’s affecting my business.”
The Health Professions Council’s Lize Nel confirmed that Anirudhra was registered as an independent practitioner.
“All medical practitioners receive basic training relating to pregnancies and how to deliver babies. However, one cannot claim to be a gynaecologist - or any type of practitioner - if not registered with the appropriate regulatory body.”
She said the council was aware of the fraud charges lodged against Anirudhra as well as the claim that he was “practising outside his scope”, and proper legal processes were being followed.
Anirudhra said he was confident he would not be convicted of fraud: “I know what I am doing is not wrong,” he said, claiming he charged his clients at GP level and not as a specialist.
zodidi.dano@inl.co.za
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Cape Argus