… Consultant accused of misconduct hits back
Maseru District Hospital has been thrown into turmoil after a high-stakes clash between its leadership and ophthalmologist Dr. Wenjun Fan.
The medical consultant, accused of professional misconduct in a show-cause letter, has hit back with a scathing response, exposing alleged mismanagement, internal chaos, and threats to patient care.
The letter, dated October 15, 2025 and signed by Dr. ‘Mabatho Masupha, Medical Superintendent of Maseru District Hospital, ordered Dr. Fan to explain within 48 hours why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for five alleged acts of professional misconduct.
Dr. Masupha accused Dr. Fan of neglecting a child patient, threatening management, posting disparaging messages on WhatsApp, unilaterally limiting patient consultations, and failing to ensure a child was admitted for surgery.
“On or about September 23, 2025, you failed to conduct a medical review on a five-year-old female patient who had been admitted to the surgical ward on the same date,” the letter read.
“On September 12, 2025, during a management meeting, you threatened the management team of Maseru District Hospital by stating that you would report them to the Government of China, with the intention of influencing the withdrawal of funding from the hospital.
“On September 10, 2025, you posted inappropriate remarks about the Medical Superintendent in a WhatsApp group comprising her junior staff. On or about September 04, 2025, you unilaterally reduced the number of patients to be seen in your department per working day to 40, without prior consultation or approval from your immediate supervisor,” it added.
Dr. Masupha further stated that: “On 14 October 2025, you booked a child for surgery but failed to ensure the patient was admitted to the surgical ward.”
She said these alleged actions suggest a failure to uphold the values of the Public Service and promote public welfare, and neglect of duties assigned by the appropriate authority.
“If substantiated, these actions may constitute serious breaches of professional conduct and administrative procedures.”
But in his reply, Dr. Fan struck a defiant tone, rejected every accusation and accused the hospital’s management of confusion, miscommunication, and deliberate misrepresentation of facts.
He insisted that no five-year-old patient was ever referred to him for review in September, and cited hospital records to back his claim.
“According to our agreement during the HOD meeting of 8 July 2025,” he wrote, “any doctor needing a review from another department must call or send a formal request form. I checked the surgical ward files for that date. There is no record of the child in question. I never received a call or request form for any five-year-old female patient.”
He denied ever threatening the management team.
“I am not a member of the management team of Maseru District Hospital (MD), how can I attend the management meeting on September 12, 2025. If possible, please share the minutes with me because I am not aware of this issue. If the threat was made outside the management meetings and unofficially, I do not understand why it should be a management team’s valued point unless anybody who threatens management by reporting does really have the power to do so,” he said.
The ophthalmologist also dismissed claims that he insulted the superintendent on WhatsApp. He defended his messages as “a genuine attempt to raise long-ignored challenges” in the absence of proper leadership.
“According to the HOD meeting, we agreed that no actions were taken by the management team for the challenges raised during the HOD meeting, and less than half of the management team members attended the HOD meetings, especially, the superintendent did not attend the meeting for more than six months, that is the reason I posted in the WhatsApp group,” he said.
“I also shared the proper communication channels to resolve the challenges within the WhatsApp group. Finally, I was not aware that sharing the information over such challenges with other HODs who did not attend the HOD meeting would appear as compromising the superintendent,” he added.
Dr. Fan went further, revealing bitter divisions within the hospital’s leadership, claiming that the “eye team has been destroyed” due to poor management and orders that undermined his authority as consultant.
“According to statistics of patients seen in the Eye Department, there has never been a day when less than 60 patients were seen since 04/09/2025. Records can prove this point better than words can,” he said.
He revealed details of a stormy meeting held on July 11, 2025, allegedly called to address what he described as a collapse in communication and leadership.
According to Fan, among key issues discussed were persistent miscommunication between staff and management, departmental meetings being held without the knowledge of Heads of Departments, and questionable directives that, in some cases, put patients’ health at risk.
He alleged that Superintendent, Dr. Masupha, had instructed him to refer patients suffering from refractive errors and keratoconus, conditions easily corrected with spectacles, to Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) and even to Bloemfontein.
He also raised concerns about the improper admission of patients without proper coordination, a problem he said had already resulted in at least one patient’s death.
“As the eye consultant, I can only see 30 to 40 patients a day,” Dr. Fan explained. “With the support of two ophthalmic nurses, we can manage up to 100 patients. But without support, it becomes impossible.”
Dr. Fan said that instead of acting on the issues raised, hospital management, particularly the matron and the superintendent, ordered ophthalmic nurses not to assist him with patient consultations.
This, he claimed, effectively “destroyed the eye team” and forced him to limit the number of patients he personally attends to.
“I had no choice but to announce that I could only consult a maximum of 40 patients per day,” he said. “How the medical officer and the ophthalmic nurse consult the patients is beyond my control.”
In his account of the final allegation, that he failed to admit a child for surgery, Dr. Fan painted a picture of chaos and confusion, saying the paediatric surgical ward refused to admit the child despite clear instructions.
On the noted date, I booked a child for squint surgery and I admitted her in the paediatric surgical ward as indicated by the surgical ward that children under 12 years old should be admitted in the paediatric surgical ward, but paediatric surgical ward refused to admit the girl, so I informed the mother that there is nowhere I can admit the child for the operation. But I was later called by the superintendent to admit the child in the eye ward, which I did without hesitation. And the girl was operated on the next day,” he said.
Dr. Fan confirmed to Newsday this week that he had received a show cause letter from Maseru District Hospital and stated that he had already submitted his written response. The hospital also confirmed that the ophthalmologist was indeed served with the letter.
The letter, issued on October 15, came after Newsday had spoken to multiple sources within the hospital, who painted a bleak picture of an institution struggling to live up to the promises made when it officially opened last year.
Dr. Fan was the only staff member willing to speak on record, while others requested anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.
Following these interviews, Newsday sent a detailed list of questions to the Ministry of Health Headquarters, seeking clarity on the allegations raised against the hospital and the concerns expressed by its staff.
At the time the letter was written, the questions were still with the ministry, with Dr. ‘Makhoase Ranyali, Director General of Health Services, stating they were occupied with a campaign to respond.
Yesterday, the hospital’s public relations officer, Kekeletso Motanyane, assured Newsday that Dr. Fan was not being victimised for speaking to the media.
“This is not victimisation,” Motanyane said. “The show cause letter was not triggered by media reports. It is the result of issues that began long before Newsday’s visit to the hospital.”
Summary
- “On or about September 23, 2025, you failed to conduct a medical review on a five-year-old female patient who had been admitted to the surgical ward on the same date,” the letter read.
- “On September 12, 2025, during a management meeting, you threatened the management team of Maseru District Hospital by stating that you would report them to the Government of China, with the intention of influencing the withdrawal of funding from the hospital.
- “According to the HOD meeting, we agreed that no actions were taken by the management team for the challenges raised during the HOD meeting, and less than half of the management team members attended the HOD meetings, especially, the superintendent did not attend the meeting for more than six months, that is the reason I posted in the WhatsApp group,” he said.
Authored by our expert team of writers and editors, with thorough research.
