The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has struck 10 foreign doctors from the register as a result of their failing their statutory South African examinations and improperly registering with the council.
The action comes with immediate effect and the doctors are required by law to immediately cease practising medicine.
Although the council was previously aware of the situation, it allowed the doctors to continue practising in hospitals in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Western Cape.
The HPCSA was swift to dismiss rumours on Wednesday that it had misplaced the doctors' examination results and could therefore not prove they had failed.
"We are definitely in possession of the results, which clearly indicate they failed," said Anina Steele of the HPCSA.
Steele said the delay in taking action against the doctors was due to an investigation into the alleged manner in which the practitioners were improperly registered with the council.
"That investigation needed to be completed before the relevant steps could be taken," Steele said.
One of the affected practitioners approached for comment, Dr Ahmed Akluk, employed at Kroonstad's Boitemelo state hospital in the Free State, declined to speak to the media.
"I will not comment on this unfortunate situation until the HPCSA has explained its unfair actions," said Akluk.
An HPCSA spokesperson, Tendai Dhliwayo, said the doctors were fraudulently registered by the HPCSA co-ordinator for foreign-qualified practitioners, Ntombi Ramatlo, in 2003.
Ramatlo was subsequently dismissed and was being investigated by the Scorpions to determine whether any bribery or corruption was involved in registering the doctors.
"Though they failed their exams, they were mysteriously registered... and are currently practising," said Dhliwayo.
The doctors, believed to be of Asian, East European and West African origins, may not continue practising until they have satisfied the HPCSA's medical skills requirements.
"The doctors now have to meet HPCSA requirements and will have to sit the relevant exams if they want to properly register with the council," Dhliwayo said.
Steele said the doctors would be allowed to rewrite their exam at a later stage.
"I am sure the board will be quite lenient in this case because they were registered fraudulently on our side," she said.
Steele pointed out that foreign doctors were able to rewrite their exam if they failed the first time around.
If they failed the rewrite, they were unable to practise in South Africa.
The council declined on Wednesday to provide details on where and in which institutions the doctors were employed.
A spokesperson for the Free State health department, Elke de Witt, said the department was unaware that the practitioners had been fraudulently registered.
"The responsibility of ensuring that doctors are properly qualified and registered lies with the HPCSA," she said.
Sibani Mngadi, spokesperson for the national department of health, said the council was responsible for verifying the qualifications of foreign doctors.
"That is not a department of health issue. The HPCSA has the necessary mandate to perform that function and take action against doctors who do not comply with the required standards," he said.
HPCSA registrar Boyce Mkhize said the council had implemented a system to verify the credentials of foreign practitioners.
"A system has been established to make thorough checks to ensure no foreign doctor gets registered without passing the necessary exams," he said.
In 2004 756 foreign-qualified doctors applied to write the board exam. Of those, 211 passed and were practising in South Africa, said Steele.