Weed out quack medical lab operators - Health Minister directs AHPC

The Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) has been asked to take immediate steps to clamp down on quacks operating medical laboratories in the country’s major cities and towns.

Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu who gave the charge on Tuesday expressed concern over the incessant spring up of such laboratories, questioning the credibility and genuineness of the operators and the consequences thereof on unsuspecting clients.

Inaugurating a renovated office building sited on the premises of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) for the AHPC, Mr Agyeman-Manu implored the Council not to relent in sanitising the system and weed out the quacks to save the general public.

“The activities of quacks who have invaded the health delivery system, particularly the medical laboratories cannot be accepted. It’s interesting that the same kind of test in about three different laboratories will give different results on the same person.

“The harm being caused on the unsuspecting public cannot be overemphasised and I urge the Council to take immediate steps and team up with relevant agencies to stop these nefarious activities of the quacks,” he charged.

Mr Agyeman-Manu further encouraged the Council to have presence in all regions across the country, entreating the board to “assist management to operationalise section 150 of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, ACT 857 which enjoins the Council to establish regional offices to provide access to your clients in the regions.”

He also implored the board to consider implementing a robust licensing and registration regime for practitioners to effectively regulate the profession and weed out quacks.

Turning attention to the new office building, the minister urged the Council to adopt a high maintenance culture pledging the ministry’s support to the Council to enable it take its pride of place in the healthcare delivery system.

Registrar of the AHPC, Dr Samuel Yaw Opoku in expressing satisfaction over the project, recounted the accommodation challenges the Council had to face in its 18 years of establishment.

He was confident the new office would give the Council the needed impetus to efficiently discharge its mandate without fear or favour.

Dr Opoku however appealed to the ministry to continuously resource the Council to live up to its expectations.

On his part, chairman of the Governing Board of AHPC, Professor Augustine Kyere lauded the ministry for working closely with the Council to complete the project on schedule and assured that it would be put into good use for the benefit of Ghanaians.