Cape Town police are investigating reports that some clinic staff are apparently selling patient folders to people wanting to fraudulently qualify for Sassa grants, reports News24.
The files, which contain detailed medical histories, are often central to determining eligibility for disability and other grants, and are essential for legitimate patients, but sources say employees at these clinics are now being paid – possibly by a syndicate – to allow unlawful access to the records.
It is alleged that the clinic folders are stolen and the original patient details replaced with those of the person intending to use them.
While applicants can apply for a SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant without a clinic folder, having one strengthens an application when a state doctor completes the medical assessment needed for the grant process.
One patient said her she had sought treatment at the Gugulethu Community Health Centre after a car accident, but she was told her file had disappeared.
“The people working there simply told me it was sold and that I should open a new one. They said they did not sell it, but that there is a syndicate operating at the facility.”
Staff at the Town Two Community Day Centre, which has been flagged in the allegations, declined to comment.
The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness said it took the allegations seriously, but required evidence before responding in detail.
The City of Cape Town’s Health department said the matter had been reported through official channels and that a police investigation was under way.
Western Cape police were still trying to find the police station handling the cases. Provincial Sassa spokesperson Shivani Wahab said the agency did not manage or issue clinic folders, as these fell under Health authorities, but that grant fraud was treated seriously.
She added that grant eligibility – particularly for disability grants – involved a rigorous process, including independent medical assessments, and was not determined solely by clinic documentation.
“Any attempt to manipulate or falsify documentation constitutes fraud and may result in prosecution, grant cancellation, and recovery of funds.”
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