“Doctor Somalia” treated patients without a medical license

“Doctor Somalia” in Trollhättan, Sweden is accused of treating patients as a physician despite lacking medical knowledge. A former employee testifies that the man gave “incorrect test results and life-threatening advice to patients”. The same clinic’s then-manager also allegedly provided medical advice without the competence to do so.

The medically responsible physician, David Pazooki, discovered after a brief conversation with “Doctor Somalia” that the man had no medical knowledge, explaining why some tests had not been conducted.

Kaafi Dalabey arrived in Sweden in 2014 from Mogadishu, Somalia. In Trollhättan, he was employed as a nursing assistant at Lextorp health center. However, Dalabey has acted as a physician and treated patients, both at work and at home. Dalabey also has a TikTok account where he calls himself “Doctor Somalia”, reveals local newspaper TTELA.

Pazooki is an experienced physician who has served in the Afghanistan mission, performed organ transplants, and conducted research. He had recently begun working at the clinic when he noticed the deficiencies. Deficiencies Pazooki believes violate the health and medical services act.

– It’s been very disheartening for me, and I didn’t believe such people existed in Sweden. Not even in Afghanistan can you do this. They’ve tricked the system and deceived the patients, David Pazooki tells the newspaper.

Whistleblower forced out

The then-manager of the health center, Thomas Nygren, also allegedly gave healthcare advice to patients despite lacking the proper education, according to Pazooki. When Pazooki asked Nygren why Dalabey was employed, he was told it was “because of his life experience”.

Dalabey is reported to have given advice over the phone, conducted EKGs, and examined ears. Pazooki also testifies about “missed tests, incorrect test results, and life-threatening advice given to patients”. On one occasion, he prescribed acetaminophen to a patient who had previously suffered a heart attack, which Pazooki believes could have gone horribly wrong.

When Pazooki raised these issues with management, he was met with resistance and was eventually fired from the health center. He also states that Dalabey threatened him, saying, “we have much more power here than you think”.

The clinic’s new owner, Isam Audeh, declines to be interviewed on the matter. Dalabey claims he did not act as a doctor but that in his home country, anyone working at a health center is called “doctor.”