A man investigated by police for allegedly using false documents to secure a job as a doctor at a New Zealand hospital was previously expelled from a university after posing as a medical student for two years.
Stuff understands the man worked in the respiratory department at Middlemore Hospital in south Auckland for several months before it was discovered he was not actually a registered doctor.
A doctor, who Stuff has agreed not to name, said the man was in his university class when he was found to have forged a University of Auckland student card and was performing dissections on cadavers.
A man is alleged to have worked at a New Zealand hospital without being registered as a doctor. (KATHRYN GEORGE/COSES)
“We were all very shocked when it happened. I can’t believe it’s happened a second time … it’s pretty awful,” the doctor said.
“It’s his second bite at the cherry.”
The doctor said the man was “a pretty nice guy,” but people in the class were upset when it was discovered he wasn’t a student.
At the time, a spokesman for the university’s medical school said the man was in the second and third years of the six-year medical course.
He allegedly dissected corpses, the spokesman confirmed.
During the two-year period, he evaded teachers by not putting his name to anything, she said.
On Thursday, the University of Auckland confirmed that the student involved in the incident was the same person who had allegedly obtained employment at Counties Manukau DHB using false documents.
The university confirmed that the man never enrolled and did not graduate from the School of Medicine. The University of Otago, home to the country’s other medical school, also confirmed there was no record of him ever graduating.
Associate Professor Warwick Bagg and Professor John Fraser in 2012, after details about the student came to light. (GRAHAM COX/THINGS)
In 2012, Professor John Fraser, the dean of the faculty of health and medical sciences, said the university was “extremely concerned to discover that a person who applied for admission to the medical program in 2010 and did not he was successful since then attending classes.”
Because of the size of the medical class and by failing to submit assessments or seat tests, the individual was able to mislead his peers and professors, Fraser said.
“Ultimately, this person’s presence was detected when an assignment was submitted that did not match any names on the class list,” Fraser said.
“This individual is not a student and is not on any class roster. This individual has not received any confidential or restricted training materials and, to our knowledge, has not been able to examine any patients or receive confidential patient information.”
Fraser said at the time that it was the first instance in the medical school’s 43-year history.
In 2010, University of Auckland associate professor Warwick Bagg said the man had cheated on the course after failing to get into it.
“College students practice with each other, which is a problem. They’re not very happy with the situation, they gave their consent,” Bagg said.
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Bagg said the man and his family were in great distress after the public outing and staff were concerned for his welfare. His family did not know that he was not officially enrolled in his course.
“Medicine is a profession built on trust, we proudly teach ethics and professionalism to our students,” Bagg said.
Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau has confirmed it lodged a police report about the man who allegedly worked as a doctor.
A spokesman for the organization said the man was hired in February “on the basis of documentation that was not authentic”.
The man does not appear to be registered as a medical practitioner in either New Zealand or Australia.