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Imposter doctor was never given official duties

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KUCHING: The State Health Department has clarified that the imposter ‘Dr Shah’ has never been given official duties nor administered any Covid-19 vaccines.

“Our internal investigation revealed that the individual who impersonated a doctor came once in a while to the vaccination centre (PPV) at Stadium Perpaduan and was first seen there on June 16.

“He claimed to be a graduate medical officer from Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and said that he only came to help if there was any free slot but never reported for official duty.

“No assignment was given to him, who was always seen in the registration room,” said State Health Department director Datuk Dr Mohamed Sapian Mohamed.

He added that the imposter was never listed in the official duty roster of all Health ministry staff and volunteers at the PPV.

“In fact, each station chief in the PPV will usually ensure that all staff fill in the check-in and check-out list each time they are on duty whereby vaccinators are mandated to have the annual Practice Certificate before being allowed to give injections,” he explained.

Dr Mohamed Sapian stated that as per investigations at SGH, it was found that the name and Department Staff pass used by the imposter was a fake.

“He has never worked as a vaccinator at PPV SGH or as a volunteer. There was also no record of self-declaration screening that must be made every time he enters for work,” he said.

Dr Mohamed Sapian added that the imposter’s claim of being a graduate medical officer in the Neurology Division at SGH was still under investigation.

Due to the incident, the management of Stadium Perpaduan and SGH PPVs would issue immediate improvement instructions to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

“There will now be an issuance of the staff pass at the PPV with serial number registered for each of them and their names will be submitted to the police superintendent at the PPV.

“All medical practitioners on duty should be able to produce their respective annual Practice Certificate at any time. In addition, the stations’ head during each shift is to ensure the collection of attendance register for the beginning and end of the shift.”

Dr Mohamed Sapian added that all the entry points at the SGH will be tightened with compliance checks on the use of department staff pass, temporary pass, and authorised contractor’s pass in all wards and hospital areas.

“Hence, all the SGH staff have been given update reminders on compliance with the use of department staff passes.

“Strict action will be taken against the forgery of department staff pass which is an official government document as well as issuance of posters regarding the offence of impersonating a public servant,” he added.

He also reminded all staff to report immediately to the management of the PPV and hospital if they come across any suspicious individuals in their respective areas.

“With this, the department would like to appeal to all parties visiting the facilities of the Ministry of Health such as PPV and hospitals to always cooperate with the security guards who carry out the task of ensuring compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) in these facilities.”

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