Allied Health Professions Council begins exercise to crack down on ‘fake’ medical practitioners  

This is to help address the harm suffered by the unsuspecting public usually caused by quack officers.

According to the council, many health officials do not have the requisite licenses to operate; a situation that is inimical to quality health service delivery.

Beginning the exercise from the Mamprobi Polyclinic in Accra on Monday, Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana Allied Health Professions Council, Daniel Atta Nyarko said persons found culpable in the course of the exercise will be dealt with by the Council.

“What this exercise seeks to achieve is for these institutions to take the necessary steps to ensure that their unlicensed members of staff are registered or licensed before they practise. Officials who are practising need to be in good standing. If they are not in good standing, the Board will decide on the necessary actions to be taken against them. Our Act says that before anyone practises, he or she needs to be licensed with the professional regulatory body. So, we entreat officials to regularise their services to offer quality services to Ghanaians.”

M&G diagnostic Centre trapped

Meanwhile, out of 8 health officials at the M&G Medical Diagnostic Centre in Accra, only two have been found to be in good standing to discharge health services at the facility.

However Managing Partner of the Centre, George Odame has assured the council that by Wednesday, February 12, 2020, the facility will acquire the proper documentation for the health workers to operate.

“Everything was intact but we had one or two technical issues that we have to deal with. It had to do with our late registration for this year and renewal of the certificates of some staff members. But we have assured them that by Wednesday, everything will be settled,” he said.

Quackmedical officials menace

There have been incidents within the country’s health system where quack medical practitioners have been apprehended.

Some have succeeded in defrauding the unsuspecting public.

In a bid to prevent the activities of fake doctors, all medical practitioners have been mandated to carry a practitioner’s stamp bearing their name and number since January 2018, following a directive by the Medical and Dental Council.

The Medical and Dental Council said this measure was also being put in place to ensure that practitioners with the Council are easily identified by the patients they care for.

It is believed this will help root out persons who operate as medical practitioners without licenses.