Why can’t we hold the bull by the horn in the health sector?

As I sat watching the panel of professors and wondering what their interests were, I saw something. A systemic problem held in the health sector with ignorance and lack of knowledge in the changing times. The belief that we know everything has been the result of our inefficiencies.

Ghana has suffered in times past when due to the shortages and challenges of professionals in medical laboratory practice, people were trained on the bench without formal qualification to fill the gaps. In fact, there were no training schools to be able to match up with the production of the required number of professionals for the job market. So necessity they say is the mother of inventions and to get people for the more deprived areas bench training was instituted. This came to help the system but left an indelible mark in the practice of the medical laboratory profession in Ghana.

As if this was not enough, as a country, we did not learn our lessons to focus on making sure we expanded schools to train professionals to hold the trade of medical laboratory science. I remember in 2013 when the newly created Council to regulate the practice of Allied Health was receiving application to license its practitioners, people found practicing medical laboratory science in Ghana were with as many as 25 different certificates. These included holders of graduate certificates in zoology, botany, biological science, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, Fisheries, human biology, medical laboratory technology, etc. Everyone was considered and offered a license as a Medical Laboratory Scientist since the law could not be applied in retrospect. A grace period for all those who were practicing before the coming into force of the functions of the Allied Health Professions Council in 2013. This actually ended in 2016 when all had the opportunity to regularise their practices.

What it also meant was that, after the law came into force, no other person could be licensed to practice Medical Laboratory Science in Ghana without studying the accredited programme by the AHPC.  Every country that desires to grow and provide a better health system has laid down laws that must be respected by all.

There are many professionals with qualifications other than Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) registered with the AHPC once you have the required body of knowledge. There is the claim that what Ghana and for that matter, the AHPC is doing is unacceptable.

In the UK, before one can practice in the medical laboratory as a professional scientist, you need to provide an accredited academic qualification which shows the individual has undertaken;

1. Core Subject areas: Biology: Primarily anatomy and physiology which should include cell biology, genetics, molecular biology and immunology. Biochemistry: Essentially the study of chemical processes which support life. Numeracy, Statistics and Computing. Instrumentation/Analytical Technique.
2. Key subject areas: The programme should cover adequately the main traditional pathology specialisms: cellular pathology/cytology, clinical chemistry, clinical haematology, immunohaematology and transfusion science, medical microbiology/virology and clinical immunology.

In fact, a fundamental requirement of biomedical science/medical laboratory science degrees is an integration of the core science and the key/specialist subject areas through a study of a pathophysiology or biology of disease component, which should consider the human disorders and disease processes together with their investigation.

The existence of these must be adequately demonstrated before one can satisfy the requirements of the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) to register as a Biomedical Scientists in the UK (same as Medical Laboratory Scientists by the AHPC in Ghana). It is complete falsehood and throwing of dust into the eyes of the public that graduates of biochemistry, biological science, chemistry, zoology, and others are allowed to practice medical laboratory science straight from their institutions without top-ups in accredited institutions. The IBMS offers a Certificate of Competence to individual applicants before being accepted by the HCPC for a license. There is nowhere on the websites of the IBMS and HCPC that graduates with the backgrounds mentioned earlier are registered without top-up except those with biomedical science degrees. Those who have Masters’ degrees in the biomedical science specialty from recognized institutions are accepted for specialist registration as Chartered Scientists (IBMS 2016-2017). The UK example is exactly how the AHPC operates in Ghana and for that matter my surprise of the concerns raised by people especially those who should know better.

It is sad that in this age of development, protecting the public is not our interest but we still want to go to the antiquated age where medical laboratories were built in containers and backyards. In fact, these things have affected the practice of the professional so much so that, branding medical laboratory science has become difficult. You are always seen as the people of the container operating anywhere as they will.

Why is it so difficult for people in authority to understand that biomedical science and medical laboratory science is the same and just a matter of naming? Just as it is a protected title in UK, so is Medical Laboratory Science also protected in Ghana. Let us stop living in self-denial and come out of ignorance and make things right for Ghanaians. No one knows when he or she will be the next patient that would require the good health service we should build now.

Those who have seen the deficiency in their degree programme and wanted to be Medical Laboratory Scientists have topped up, graduated and are registered with the license ready for the job market while some still remain adamant and recalcitrant to practice as they believe without the body of knowledge that defines a profession.

Where laws exist and practice of any profession is protected under law, your knowledge alone is not enough to get you practicing without the needed legal backing no matter how biased the laws might appear to be implemented. To think that professionalism is not important, then I will object to the imprisonment of people like the CEO of Obengfo Hospital for acting unprofessionally as the court ruling came out.

Our leaders must take the bull by the horn and let us progress but not retrogress to the age where urines from males were said to have still tested positive for HCG to imply pregnancy. Medical Laboratory Practice must improve and be better but not treated anyhow for individuals’ parochial interest.