In A Fish Rots from the Head Down - exposing HPCSA corruption - Dr Luke Gordon describes the dysfunctional and corrupt Health Professions Council of South Africa. The HPCSA is the medical board which oversees complaints against doctors practising in South Africa.
With its draconian stance on treating doctors charged with unprofessional conduct - contrary to common law principles - doctors are deemed guilty until proven innocent.
In this, the second in the series, the reader encounters the first bad actor in the story - Dr Lesley Berkowitz - a psychopath loathed by his peers because he will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who dares to cross him. Many a plastic surgeon’s career has been destroyed by him. His egregious hypocrisy is apparent in a lecture he gave on being a mensch.
The author describes the rampant corruption within the HPCSA which starts at CEO and permeates most employees on the take from doctors wishing to escape the clutches of the monster.
The reader will read of the horrifying story of Gershon Mosiane, the corrupt prosecutor who hijacked the hearing of a patient who developed a catastrophic complication as a result of her failure to comply with post operative instructions. His objective was to enrich himself by hijacking the process. However, Dr Gordon wasn’t prepared to compromise his moral compass and went to the authorities.
A Lebanese couple who were both operated on by Dr Gordon have a verbal altercation with his receptionist. They run to the ombudsman of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of South Africa, Dr Lesley Berkowitz to “tell on” the receptionist. Berkowitz, the bully, challenges Dr Gordon and comes off second best.
In his rage, Berkowitz hatches a diabolical plan to exact revenge.
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