Patients warned after man poses as Vancouver surgeon, asks for deposits
Posted December 27, 2018 4:31 pm.
Last Updated December 27, 2018 4:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Health authorities are warning patients after a man who is not an accredited medical doctor in B.C. asked for deposits to perform surgeries.
Vancouver Coastal Health says a man named Asten Nguyen Phong Nguyen, or “Dr. Nguyen Nguyen,” has been advertising online. The man is not affiliated with VGH and is not registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, according to Vancouver Coastal Health.
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Tiffany Akins with Vancouver Coastal Health says he isn’t authorized to practice medicine here.
“We have heard that someone by the name of Mr. Asten Nguyen has been advertising his services as a surgeon at VGH, and he’s asking his prospective patients to pay him for deposit for their surgery,” she says. “He’s not registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C., and he’s not authorized to practice medicine here in B.C.”
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Now Vancouver Coastal Health is asking people who have paid him a deposit for surgery to contact the College and the police immediately.
They are also reminding the public that they can verify the credentials of a physician or surgeon on the College Physician’s Directory.
