But there
are challenges in professional practice which impede efficient service
delivery.
The Ghana
Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) at its 3rd National
Executive Council (NEC) meeting highlighted some challenges in quality laboratory
service delivery:
Policy environment
In 2010, the Ghana Health Service (GHS)
with support from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta-USA constituted the Laboratory Technical Committee (LTC) to develop the
National Health Laboratory Policy and National Health Laboratory Accreditation
Policy.
In addition, a five year Strategic Plan
document for the implementation of these policies were completed, finalized and
endorsed by the Health Ministry in 2013.
The documents are however yet to be
implemented.
The GABMLS has acknowledged recent efforts by
the Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) unit of the Ministry of
Health to ensure the policies do not remain on the shelves.
But the Association says the absence of
policy guidelines is detrimental to the delivery of quality health care in the
country.
“It will be highly unacceptable and
suicidal to allow the financial and technical investment made by CDC into developing
the three documents to go waste,” it said.
Health
Capitation
The GABMLS is gravely concerned with the
capitation and bundled tariff system by the National Health Insurance Authority
(NHIA) for which medical laboratory services are bundled with consultation
fees.
“This bundled tariff system is very
inimical to the practice, growth and promotion of quality medical laboratory
services in Ghana especially in the district and sub-district hospitals,”
according to the Association.
It has therefore called on the NHIA and the
government to ensure that medical laboratory service tariffs are de-bundled
from consultation fees as a matter of urgency.
This, the group believes, will ensure
adequate funding for laboratory reagents and consumables to provide
uninterrupted quality laboratory diagnostic service that will enhance quality
health care delivery in hospitals.
Unqualified personnel
The GABMLS has observed in the recent
recruitment of health workers by the Ghana Health Service, some unqualified
personnel were recruited into medical laboratories of some district hospitals,
especially in the Upper East region and some Mission hospitals in the Northern
region.
The Association has called on Human
Resource Directorate of the GHS, the Upper East Regional Health Directorate and
Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) to ensure that the appointments of
all unqualified persons are revoked immediately.
It has also urged the Allied Health
Professions Council (AHPC) to as a matter of urgency investigate the reports,
and to bring facilities that engage unqualified personnel in their laboratories
to book to serve as a deterrent.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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