Health workers say ‘fake patients’ may be fuelling medicine black market in Mpumalanga

Health workers in Mpumalanga say fake patients are obtaining medicines from public clinics and exporting them to neighbouring countries, and the provincial health department says it is assessing the information to see whether a formal investigation is warranted.

Allegations from frontline staff

According to The Citizen, a nurse who asked not to be named said people believed to be foreign nationals were collecting vital medicines from public clinics in the province and sending them to countries such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Citizen also reported that another health practitioner said the fake patients collected medicines, including antiretrovirals (ARVs) and other vital medicines.

Instances cited

According to The Citizen, one patient was caught collecting medication at three different clinics. The report also said that during recent anti-immigration protests, a woman from Malawi told The Citizen she had stopped going to clinics and instead bought medicines from the black market.

Political and civil-society reactions

According to The Citizen, Bosman Grobler, a Democratic Alliance member in the Mpumalanga legislature, said the tip-off did not specify the nationality of the alleged fake patients. Grobler warned of “serious weaknesses in patient verification, record management and medicine control systems” and suggested that organised criminal syndicates may be exploiting these vulnerabilities. He urged the department to investigate and take action.

Department response

According to The Citizen, the Mpumalanga health department said it was assessing the allegations to determine whether there were sufficient grounds for a formal investigation. The department told The Citizen that where duplicate or irregular records are identified they are reviewed and addressed through appropriate processes, and that to date it had not identified or confirmed evidence of medicines being fraudulently obtained or diverted for resale.

Controls and monitoring

According to The Citizen, the department said it continues to strengthen controls relating to patient administration, health information and pharmaceutical services, and that it uses the Stock Visibility System to monitor medicine stocks and identify potential discrepancies.

What remains unclear

The claims reported by The Citizen come from health workers and a lawmaker, and the department is still assessing the information to decide on next steps. The report does not provide confirmed evidence that medicines have been diverted for resale.