The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) has called on the government to put steps in place to drastically standardize laboratory practices to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in the country.
According to the national president of the association, Dr. Abu Abudu Rahamani, the giant strides it had made stand the chance of being derailed if laboratory practices in Ghana are not standardized to meet global demands.
He said there is the need for government to address the pressing challenges confronting the association, such as insufficient professionals and inadequate logistics to enable its members to discharge their duties successfully; especially in the midst of pandemics such as COVID-19.
“We find ourselves in a situation where there is inadequate well-trained licensed medical professionals for effective and efficient discharge of diagnostic, therapeutic and research functions for excellent healthcare with the relevant authorities mandated to take action, not being bothered. This is quite an unacceptable situation. The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service led by Hon. Minister and the Director-General should ensure that all our districts and regional laboratories are well equipped to better function,” he pleaded.
Dr. Rahamani made this call during the 2021 annual national congress held in the Upper East Regional capital of Bolgatanga.
Dr. Rahamani went on to entreat members of the association to cultivate the spirit of commitment, friendliness, and hard work in the performance of their responsibilities to ensure the association stands the test of time.
He again charged them (members) to be as innovative as possible, as everything in the world keeps evolving.
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, who read a speech on behalf of the Minister for Health, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, highlighted the need for ensuring registration and certification of laboratory facilities in the country, if standardization could be achieved.
He explained that registration of all laboratory facilities in the country was a catalyst to forestalling the activities of quacks in the system.
Mr. Yakubu also stated that education and licensing were crucial to attaining standardized practices in the country.
On his part, Dr. Razak Dokorugu, who read a speech on behalf of the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagy, said the Ghana Health Service with support from the Ministry of Health was determined to build human and infrastructural capacity in the health sector to provide quality service to all citizens in the country.
He expressed the service’s dedication to obtaining baseline data on Medical Laboratory Quality Management Systems (LQMS) across the country, an initiative he explained will assist the service to give the needed support and attention to medical laboratories to enable them to match current and future pandemics.
His Royal Highness, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nalebgetang, Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area was the guest of honor and chairman for the opening ceremony of the 2021 annual conference of the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists.
The theme for this year’s congress was ‘Standardizing Medical Laboratory Science in Ghana to Better Position the Country in the midst of infectious Diseases’.
Source:Fiilafmonline/A1Radiooline.
