Barcelona.- The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested in Vic (Barcelona) the false doctor who, without a university degree to practice medicine, posed as a nurse and doctor in a minimum of three health centers, including the Hospital de Berga (Barcelona), where she worked for seven months in the emergency room.
As reported by the Catalan police, the 30-year-old woman was arrested last night and will go to court in the next few hours for this alleged case of professional intrusion, in which she showed a false payment receipt for the University of Girona’s degree in Medicine to be hired.
Until now, the Mossos have been able to prove, in the initial phase of the investigation, that the detainee, who had no knowledge of medicine, posed as a nurse and doctor in a minimum of three health centers – the Hospital de Berga, the Dexeus University of Barcelona and a clinic in Girona -, as well as in a health services prevention company.
For this reason, she is accused of four crimes of professional intrusion, falsification of a public document and usurpation of civil status.
the alert
The manager of the Berga Hospital reported to the Mossos last Thursday that from December 2022 until the middle of this month of July they had a doctor who did not have the required qualification in the emergency department.
The hospital was put on alert after a preventive health services company, where the fake doctor had looked for work, warned them about the possible fake.
In addition, the Mossos have corroborated that the detainee is listed in the database of the Barcelona College of Physicians using the collegiate number of another doctor.
The Mossos have also verified, through the Ministry of Universities, that the woman does not have any university degree in Spain, nor any external title approved by the State.
In fact, according to the Mossos, when the personnel responsible for the Berga Hospital requested the documentation, the detainee only showed a screenshot with a collegiate number and two photographs dressed as a doctor, after which they told her that on December 20, 2022 she could join as a doctor in the Hospital’s emergency department and they asked her, when she could, to provide the paper documentation.
It was not listed in the College of Physicians
Finally, when the Hospital discovered in the middle of this month of July that the woman was not included in the database of the College of Physicians, they opened a disciplinary file for a very serious offense and suspended her from her duties.
In this case, the Berga Hospital has admitted “significant irregularities” in the hiring procedure of the false doctor and has fired the director of the Center’s Human Resources Department.
According to the Mossos, in addition to the Hospital de Berga, so far the investigators have also been able to confirm that the false doctor worked as a nurse and a doctor at the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona and in a clinic in Girona and that she was also part of the medical staff of a health services prevention company.
The woman prepared and signed reports and prescriptions with the digital signature of another doctor, using her collegiate number, according to the Mossos, who are keeping the investigation open and are in contact with other health centers and ambulance services in which the detainee could have been involved, in addition to collecting all the information regarding the affected patients.
According to the Berga Hospital, since the woman was new to the center, she always worked under the supervision of a “senior” doctor and in low-complexity procedures, so there were no care incidents nor have there been “no claims” from users for malpractice.