Umhlanga hospital beefs up security after fake doctor incident
The Netcare Umhlanga Hospital says it has has beefed up security at the medical facility after a woman gained access to a room where a sick toddler was staying.
The woman entered the paediatric unit of the hospital last week and made her way to the room.
She is said to have conned the 17-month-old child's mother into handing over her cell phone after she told her she was doctor.
The hospital says this is first incident of its kind at the hospital.
In an emailed response the hospital's general manager Marc van Heerden says there hasn't been a security breach because staff questioned the woman prior to giving her access to the locked paediatric unit.
He says the woman gave detailed and convincing information - she even knew the baby patient's names and surname.
The woman claimed to be a family member and had come to collect the keys of another relative who had forgotten them during a visit.
A community newspaper which interviewed the baby's mother reported that she feared the woman would kidnap her baby so she pressed the buzzer on the bedside alerting staff - the woman at this point had walked out with her cell phone.
Van Heerden says this is first incident of its kind at the hospital and additional security measure are now being implemented.
The woman was arrested before she could make her way out of the hospital.
(File photo)