The case begins this Wednesday, February 24, 2016: a 33-year-old man comes to the emergency of the Chartres hospital to offer its services. Unknown to the health personnel of the establishment, the “professional” claims that his registration with theDoctor’s orders is in progress. It provides the name and surname of a practitioner based in Gironde, currently on vacation in the West Indies.
In reality, the man is homeless: he has just been guilty of identity theft. “This individual presented himself to the head of the emergency department, with a view to carrying out guards. He gave a few things that might suggest that he was really a doctor. (…) But to possibly be recruited, this person had to have his file in due form. Which was not the case ”explains Yvon Le Tilly, deputy director of the hospitals of Chartres, questioned by the newspaper The Republican Echo.
If in doubt: check the official directory
Quickly, doubts emerge among the staff of the establishment. Yet the fake doctor manages to spend a day in the emergency department, within the medical team. A presence without consequences for the patients, according to Yvon Le Tilly: “the man was simply on a pre-visit, with the perspective of possibly carrying out on-call duty, and always accompanied by emergency doctors. The next day, Thursday, the management was notified by the Departmental Council of the Order of suspected identity theft by this individual. Immediately, the hospital management reacted. The verification went quickly. “
End of story Thursday, February 25, 2016: the man is arrested by the police, placed in police custody and then indicted for illegal practice of medicine, theft of title and identity and fraud . He is now in pre-trial detention. As a reminder, the directory of the National Council of the Order of Physicians (accessible free of charge and freely on This site) makes it possible to verify the legitimacy of a healthcare professional. Good to know !
