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Senior Universitas Academic Hospital doctors accused of medical malpractice, abuse

───   KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 14:58 Wed, 06 Aug 2025

Senior Universitas Academic Hospital doctors accused of medical malpractice, abuse | News Article
Photo: OFM News.

A former junior doctor at Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein has made serious and explosive allegations against senior doctors in the Free State department of health.

On 30 April last year, Lungile Mokgatle (37) lodged a formal dispute with the Public Health and Social Development Sectorial Bargaining Council while also filing a legal application in the High Court in Bloemfontein.

In her case against the Free State department of health and the University of the Free State (UFS), Mokgatle sought an order for her reinstatement as a medical practitioner at Universitas and requested sufficient time to complete 75 cardiac surgeries required for her final exams to complete her master’s degree.

Mokgatle had resumed a five-year contract with the Free State Department of Health on 1 January 2019, with an expiry date of 31 December 2023. However, complications arose when she failed to submit her research on time and could not secure the necessary approvals from her supervisor and department head, as required under UFS General Rules 2024 (A28.17).

Further extension of contract denied

Initially, Mokgatle applied for a six-month extension, which was granted. However, her subsequent request for a further six-month extension was denied due to non-compliance with the conditions of the first extension.

She appealed the decision, which was later reviewed by the UFS, and the university granted her a final opportunity to complete her studies in August last year. However, her legal battles have continued, with Mokgatle claiming that systemic issues within the department remain unresolved.

In an interview with OFM News, Mokgatle outlined troubling allegations against her two supervisors, Dr Richard Schulenburg and Prof Francis Smit. According to her, both senior doctors routinely bypassed informed consent protocols, mistreated trainees, and prioritised their private practices over their public healthcare responsibilities.

‘We are sometimes expected to perform surgeries without a supervising consultant present’

Mokgatle provided specific accounts of high-risk situations in which trainees, including herself, were allegedly required to perform surgeries without supervision – a serious violation of standard medical practice. The two doctors are accused of misconduct that, if true, jeopardises both patient safety and the professional development of trainee doctors.

“I was personally on the receiving end of my supervisor’s wrath when I went against his instruction – which, ultimately, was in the best interest of the patient,” Mokgatle said.

“We are sometimes expected to perform surgeries without a supervising consultant present. On occasions when my supervisor’s private list overlaps with a thoracic list, we as registrars are left to operate alone, without a consultant on site.”

Trainees were dispatched to perform private surgeries immediately after completing their public hospital shifts, often without sufficient rest. According to Mokgatle, these procedures did not count towards their official case logbooks and placed both patients and medical trainees at significant risk.

“These cases took place during official working hours when we were contracted to provide services to the state,” she said. “This endangered not only patients, but also our employment and professional standing with our credentialing body.”

Mokgatle described what she called a toxic work environment in which verbal abuse and favouritism were common. She claimed some trainees were given preferential treatment, receiving more training opportunities while others, including herself, were left behind.

‘Verbal abuse is common’

Mokgatle eventually took the step of becoming a whistle-blower, raising concerns about these alleged unethical practices, but said her efforts were met with retaliation.

“Verbal abuse is common. Profanity was used without restraint, and we were spoken to as though we were petulant children. Some of my peers and I were shouted at. Favoured trainees received more training opportunities, often at the expense of others,” she said.

Court documents reveal that Mokgatle applied for a protection order for harassment against Schulenburg, claiming that her relationship with both supervisors had become untenable. The court subsequently prohibited Schulenburg from continuing to supervise her, as this would have constituted a violation of the protection order.

Mokgatle still finds herself in limbo

However, the department contended that Mokgatle had refused to comply with her supervisors’ instructions, arguing that no alternative supervisors were available to provide the required training within the cardiothoracic department.

Despite this, the issue remains unresolved, and Mokgatle continues to find herself in limbo – unable to complete her master's degree due to the absence of proper documentation and sufficient procedures under her supervision.

In addition to her professional struggles, Mokgatle claims she was implicitly threatened with legal action after making protected disclosures to Human Resources. She further accused one of her supervisors of using his position as president of the College of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa to intimidate students and suppress any attempts to challenge the status quo.

Mokgatle has reported that, despite raising her concerns through various internal channels – including alerting senior officials and even MECs – no meaningful action has been taken to address the issues she raised.

“I exhausted all the internal processes, and nothing happened until my five-year contract with the department ended,” she said. “Now I am unable to complete my master’s, as the recorded surgical procedures I completed do not meet the required standard, largely due to performing more surgeries at private hospitals.”

Mondli Mvambi, spokesperson for the provincial department of health, said he could not comment as the matter was sub judice.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs

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