GADMILS said it had exhausted all avenues to ensure that the LI was passed, but to no avail.

Dr Ignatius Awinibumo, President of GADMLS, expressed the concern at a stakeholders forum held on Tuesday, in Accra on the theme: Advocacy for the formulation of the required Legislative Instrument (LI) to fully operationalise the health professions regulatory bodies Act, 2013(Act 857).

Dr Awinibumo said: “in spite of the critical role of laboratory services in health care, there is no law and for that matter, no regulatory body in Ghana to supervise the activities of laboratory services”.

This, he said, had led to the increase of quack and fake laboratories, which are producing deficient laboratory results, resulting in wrong diagnoses and mistreatment of patients.

He said majority of people who worked at these facilities were without license and that the situation could have dire consequence on the health of people who patronise their services.

Dr Awinibumo alleged that some people died as a result of deficiencies and wrong laboratory reports.

He said it was time pressure was mounted on the government to do the proper thing to ensure that medical laboratory practice was done professionally.

Dr Awinibumo said the association would lead a national effort to promote best laboratory services in Ghana.

The registrar of allied health professions council of the Ministry of Health, Dr Samuel Yaw Opoku cautioned allied health professionals practicing without licence to desist from the act and ensure that they were registered.

He said it was an offence for any institution or facility to engage the services of an unlicensed person under Act 857 (2013).

“Let me also advice all allied health training institutions, both public and private alike, that they are required under the law to obtain professional accreditation for their institutions and programmes without which their students will not be allowed to write the licensure examination and, therefore, cannot be registered to practice as allied health professionals,” he said.

He said allied health professionals were key in delivering safe and effective practice and health, as they provide diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative and supportive care across the range of health professions to make a real difference to the lives of patients.

BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY 

• Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Health Minister