Nurse runs clinic from home
She allegedly posed as a doctor and was treating people with stolen medicines from East London hospitals
An Eastern Cape nurse who allegedly ran a clinic from her home with state medical equipment appeared in the Mqanduli Magistrate’s Court on Monday, the provincial health department said.
“Nombeko Shirly Horner-Taylor, 59, was arrested in possession of clearly marked state medicines...believed to have been stolen from East London hospitals,” spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
“She allegedly posed as a doctor treating and admitting patients from her Coffee Bay house.”
The medicine found included schedule 5 drugs that can only be issued on prescription by a qualified doctor.
Oxygen cylinders, catheters, linen savers, a stethoscope and other equipment was also found at her house.
Horner-Taylor, a nurse at the Cecilia Makiwane hospital in Mdantsane, was arrested at her home when she should have been on duty, Kupelo said.
“We will institute internal disciplinary proceedings against her, including investigations on the medical certificate she submitted for sick leave.”
The department would also establish how medicines were taken from hospitals and if there was a syndicate involved.
The nurse is the fourth official of the health department to be arrested in connection with theft of state medicine in the last two months.
Last month, three officials and an employee of the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality were arrested for allegedly stealing medicine worth about R250,000.
Kapelo said the department was losing over R1 million a year through medicine theft at hospitals and clinics.
The nurse would appear again in court on Friday for her formal bail application.
Firefly
If she wasnt charging people I'll support her. She was just extending the DOH's services. Imagine most clinics close at 2 or 3pm, you could probably go to her house at 11pm and she would've helped you.Report Abuse
Baglady
Florence Nightingale would have been proud of her, pity she stole from the clinics that are also there to assit patients.Report Abuse
green2014
This is an old trick, which gained popularity in the '80s in Durban, i don't know about other provinces. By then the modus operandi was for the syndicates (you can't pull this alone) to pilfer medication in bulk and sell it back to the hospital and the process will start again and again and again. Although pharmacies had medication all the time, accounting figures were constantly changing to the detriment of the state.Unfortunately, corruption is not learnt at school but a "monkey see; monkey do "type of an enterprise. New public servants learn what the previous order public servants were doing, they improve on that and its business as usual. Unfortunately, they get caught with their hands dripping fat because of greed.
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