Stop implanting medical doctors as heads of laboratories, GABMLS charges

The Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) says it will resist any attempt to push its professionals aside and implant Medical Doctors as heads of laboratories in health facilities.

It describes as “unacceptable” the deliberate attempts by the Ghana Laboratory Medicine Faculty of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) to infiltrate and capture the management of medical laboratories in Ghana.

“Currently, there are attempts at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital to remove highly qualified Medical Laboratory Scientists as Laboratory Heads and to replace them with medical doctors of the GCPS,” noted a statement issued at a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Association.

The Association believes there are many Medical Laboratory Scientists who hold higher qualifications, managerial skills and training, and are capable of effectively and efficiently managing medical laboratories.

It has therefore called on the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Teaching Hospitals Authorities and Human Resource Directorates to ensure that only Medical Laboratory Scientists with the requisite qualification and managerial training are appointed to Head Medical Laboratories in the country.

“We wish to urge the Ghana Medical and Dental Council, Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) to encourage such medical doctors to leave the management of medical laboratories to the practitioners of the profession of Medical Laboratory Science; and to trade the profession for which they have license to practice,” said the Statement signed by President, Thomas Kwabena Gyampomah and General Secretary, Michael Amo Omari.

The GABMLS NEC deliberated on recent developments in the Health sector and matters that are hampering the effective and efficient practice of Medical Laboratory Science in Ghana.

The Association is also concerned about the unfair placement of Chief Biomedical Scientists and the Technical Officers – holders of Diploma in Medical laboratory Technology – on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) compared to the analogous grade group by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).

“This salary discrepancy has taken the FWSC far too long a time to rectify and the excuses for not doing so are simply untenable,” it said.

The GABMLS therefore calls on the GHS and FWSC to immediately ensure that these outstanding issues on the SSSS, including all arrears due them since the anomaly was detected, are rectified and paid up as soon as possible to avert an eminent upheaval from membership that may further compound the industrial unrest in the health sector.