The Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) says it has observed that the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) is training doctors to for a medical title that is “alien” to the profession.
The Association in a statement signed by its President Ignatius Awinibuno said, it believes the GCPS is “training physicians purposely to scramble for positions in the Medical laboratory facilities across the country.”
“That the title ‘Laboratory Physician’ is alien to the practice of medical laboratory science in Ghana, and that the said specialty has no place nor recognized under ACT 857(2013) as a profession in Ghana,” the statement said.
The statement said the focus of the Faculty of Laboratory Medicine of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons to train some 250 doctors to compete for the job of Medical Laboratory Scientists is not in the best interest of the country, arguing that it was a waste of resources to train the personnel only to be appointed to do jobs of medical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory technicians who have already been appointed and paid to do better quality of work.
“It would be a typical example of wanton waste of national resources, duplication of efforts, and obviously suicidal for an economically constrained nation as Ghana with myriad of healthcare challenges to undertake such a venture. Besides, most of our regional and district hospitals are in urgent need of more medical doctors to augment their work in the clinical and surgical fields,” the statement said.
The Association said, the roles and benefits of “Laboratory Physicians” to healthcare delivery need to be re- evaluated on the basis of value for money and efficient allocation of human resources.
It also called on the Government through the Ministry of Health to address the issue and get the GCPS to re-direct its efforts at training in the specialty and sub-specialty areas in Medicine for better quality of care for the Ghanaian citizenry.
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