LAST month we carried a shocking article about a bogus brain surgeon who was erased from the register of the Health Professions Council of South Africa after it was discovered that he had failed to prove his qualifications credentials.

Even more shocking are the latest revelations that the same neurosurgeon had also tried his luck in neighbouring Zimbabwe and Botswana, where he was sent packing because of what was described as shoddy work.

It is very concerning that such a dubious character was allowed to make contact with patients who earnestly believed they would find help.

Neurosurgery is a highly specialised, delicate and intricate discipline in which only specialists who have qualified are allowed to have contact with patients.

The situation that allowed the so-called specialist neurosurgeon to work here flies directly in the face of the integrity of our Health Department.

Our good doctor has for more than three years worked at two public hospitals in Gauteng - the Steve Biko Academic and Chris Hani-Baragwanath - and also had a private practice at the Mediforum Clinic inPretoria.

This is the same man who was kicked out of Zimbabwe for shoddy work. We fail to understand how it could take more than three years for a body charged with the responsibility of checking out applicants' credentials to discover this.

We believe the HPCSA let the country down as it seems to have failed to do what appears to be normal and reasonable procedure.

Failure to do so and registering the man meant the HPCSA had unleashed him on unsuspecting patients.

Another factor that was overlooked is the general practice in terms of which doctors who qualified from outside our borders have to write an entrance examination before being allowed to practice here.

Again it does not appear as if the man satisfied these prere-quisites and no one seems to have checked on him.

Many lives have been put at risk by allowing him contact with the patients and we are of the view that the man has a case of fraud to answer for.

We are also convinced that in spite of all the noise around his qualification, the man's response in terms of proving the authorities wrong is a deafening silence that is far from convincing.

We agree with Steve Biko Hospital CEO Dr Ernest Kenoshi, who argues that seeing the man was given a work permit on the strength of being a qualified neurosurgeon, Home Affairs should throw him out of the country.