Cape Joint Surgery

Shocked by surgeon's attitude

Met Dr Martin from Cape Join Surgery at Constantiaberg Mediclinic after I fell off my bicycle and broke my collarbone, and was admitted into their Emergency rooms. He advised surgery, so on recommendation of my hospital plan, I brokered an agreement with his secretary that they would liaise directly with my hospital plan and GAP cover for all bills. They agreed verbally, and I signed in for the soonest surgical appointment available as I was in a lot of pain. The surgery was thankfully a success. In the weeks and months that followed, it turned out that Dr Nick Martin had charged more than 13x the medical aid rate (!) and thus my GAP cover (who only cover up to 5x the medical aid rate) basically refused the pay the shortfall. Apart from the appalling experience and related admin, the most upsetting aspect was that Dr Martin insisted on pursuing me aggressively to pay the shortfall, including being direct and aggressive about it in his rooms when I visited him as a patient for a post-op checkup. When I pointed out the agreement we had made (ie that they liaise directly with hospital plan and GAP cover for all monies due), he completely disregarded this and said he'd never agree to such a thing, and what's more, handed me over to debt collectors who got even more aggressive and added exorbitant fees on top of Dr Martin's. I eventually had to get a lawyer to assist me in making a rebuttal, to get Dr Martin to take the case out of the hands of these debt collectors, but he still insisted on me paying every cent of the shortfall. I think this is a clear case of an arrogant surgeon who puts profit before his service to humanity. In retrospect I would have had a much better experience with public healthcare!