The fake doctor who worked as such for seven months at the Berga hospital was arrested on Monday night in Vic by the Mossos d'Esquadra. In addition, at the moment, it is known that he also worked at the Sant Bernabé de Berga hospital, at the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona, at a clinic in Girona and at a health services prevention company. The Mossos d'Esquadra are investigating whether the impostor worked in other health centers.
The woman pretended to be a doctor for seven months at the Berga hospital without being one. For this and other cases he is charged with four crimes of professional intrusion, falsification of a public document and usurpation of marital status.
After the arrest in the capital of Osona, the accused was transferred to the police station in Berga, where she is being held awaiting trial and is scheduled to do so today, Wednesday, in the courts of Berga.
It was the manager of the Berga hospital, Antònia Baraldés, who reported the accused to the Mossos after a preventive health services company, in which the woman had sought work, alerted them to the possible falsity of her documentation , as they detected that the colleague number she was using belonged to another doctor.
When they found out, the hospital opened a disciplinary file against her and suspended her from her duties.
In the first phase of the investigation, it was confirmed, through the Ministry of Universities, that the woman did not have a university degree in Spain, and that she also did not have a degree from any other country recognized in Spain. When the personnel managers of the Berga hospital required the supporting documentation, he only showed a screenshot with a colleague's number and two photographs in which he was dressed as a doctor.
Despite this, they informed her that on December 20 she could join the center's emergency service doctor, and ordered her to provide all the required documentation.
The hospital has recognized "significant irregularities" in the recruitment of the fake doctor and has dismissed the director of human resources. "We considered that he did not perform his job well", explained Baraldés. From the center, they describe the events as "isolated", although it has promised to review the protocols to prevent something similar from happening again. However, the center has specified that the woman was accompanied at all times by a superior, as she explained that she had recently graduated. The health center guarantees that there have been no complaints from patients or any "care gaps".
According to sources at the hospital center, the fake doctor always acted normally, without raising suspicions, she only seemed a little insecure when making any report, for which she requested a lot of information, according to her mates. She was "very ready and cautious" and, in any case, it was only detected that she "asked a lot".
So far, the investigations have been able to confirm that she worked as a doctor and nurse - she alternated jobs - in three health centers: the aforementioned hospital in Berga, the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona and a clinic in Girona. In addition, he was part of the staff of a health services prevention company. Now the Catalan police are investigating whether he worked in other health centers and in ambulance services. In addition, all the information regarding the affected patients is also being collected. In any case, according to what has been investigated, in most centers he made and signed reports with the digital signature of another doctor, in addition to his membership number. He also falsified the payment slip for the degree in Medicine from the University of Girona.
For its part, the Metges de Catalunya trade union has demanded from CatSalut greater control over recruitment in health centers to prevent more cases of possible professional intrusion. The union considers that the shortage of doctors "cannot justify the laxity" of verifying the candidates' training, skills and work experience. "The controls must be exhaustive and the guarantees must be total", underlines the trade union organization.
Likewise, he has requested that the "chain of errors" committed be investigated and that responsibilities be cleared, since it is a "very serious" fact that could have entailed a risk to the health of users.
