Payback time
2003-07-07 21:51
Johannesburg - Community service in state hospitals may be on the cards for four Johannesburg surgeons who received more than R1.3m in kickbacks.
The Health Professions Council (HPC) earlier found doctors Julies Preddy, Percy Miller, Leonard Nainkin and Ian Weinberg guilty of unprofessional and scandalous behaviour. They will be sentenced on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Mike Maritz recommended on Monday that the four be scrapped from the roll, but that the disbarment be suspended for five years on condition that Miller works in state hospitals two days per week and the others one day per week.
Maritz argued that kickbacks often resulted in over-service, which in turn increased medical aid premiums, making medical cover unaffordable for the poor. By working in state hospitals, the surgeons would be helping this sector of society.
The surgeons received financial reward for referring patients to Dr Illes and Partners, a former radiology practice at the Linksfield Park centre in Johannesburg, between 1993 and 2001.
The case against the radiologists, doctors Jozsef Illes, Jeffrey Swartzberg, Leon le Roux and Herman Uys, will continue next year.