A Cape Town surgeon has been removed from his Panorama Hospital rooms after allegations of inappropriate conduct from a patient and harassment of female staff.
Dr Ignatius Botha, a general surgeon whose core competencies include laparoscopic surgery, has been suspended after a complaint was laid against him with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
News24 understands this relates to inappropriate conduct during a pelvic examination he performed without surgical gloves on a young woman who presented with an abscess under her arm.
HPCSA spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana confirmed that a complaint had been received.
Botha – who obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Pretoria in 1978 and his Master of Medicine degree from Stellenbosch University in 1991 – said he had learned about the patient’s complaint from the press.
His attorney, Nicola Caine, said Botha had not yet received a formal notice.
“This matter is likely to become sub judice and … it is not appropriate for him to comment, other than to state that he denies having acted unprofessionally in any way whatsoever,” she added on her client’s behalf.
Reliable sources told News24 numerous complaints, spanning decades, had been laid regarding Botha’s alleged harassment of women in the workplace.
Botha was ostensibly known for inappropriate “touching” and unwanted remarks to female employees, a former colleage said, while subsequent complaints to management would be “squashed” to avoid “ructions”.
She added that she was aware of myriad complaints against him which “simply went nowhere”.
She had reported him to the HPCSA in recent years, charging that he was contravening ethical guidelines, considering he was in a position of power.
But, she said, her complaint to the health professions watchdog went unanswered.
Caine, on Botha’s behalf, said her client was aware of the complaints of two women at the hospital who “perceived” his behaviour as inappropriate.
He denied any “intentional wrongdoing”, she added, noting that the complaints were only brought to his attention several months after they are alleged to have occurred.
“He is, nevertheless, complying with the investigation process initiated by Mediclinic as best he can, given these limitations.”
Mediclinic Southern Africa spokesperson Nokuzola Plaatjie said the hospital viewed the matters in a serious light.
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