Deputy Ranking member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Dr Robert Kuganabem Baba has backed calls by the Medical and Dental Council for Parliament to review the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2003 (Act 857).
Dr. Baba who doubles as Member of Parliament for Binduri said the move will ensure practitioners whose licenses are withdrawn seize to practice entirely regardless of the facility they work with.
According to the MP, even though the call is in the right direction, the Council or any private individual may have to initiate and sponsor an amendment bill through the Health Ministry before Parliament could act.
The amendment to the Act comes in the wake of operations by unlicensed Obengfo Hospital and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Dominic Obeng- Andoh.
The unlicensed facility and its CEO have allegedly caused the death of the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), Ms. Stacy Offei Darko under unfortunate circumstances.
Previous controversies involving the Obengfo Hospital
In January 2017, the Medical and Dental Council closed down Obengfo Hospital for operating illegally. The move was to apply the law to ensure that the hospital did not operate until it acquired the necessary license.
That was the second legal action the facility faced after the Council revoked Dr Obeng-Andoh’s licence in 2013 for operating illegally.
Dr Obeng-Andoh in December 2016, was also arrested over the same issue after the Dental and Medical Council said it had received several complaints of medical complications from some persons who had patronised the facility
According to the Council, Dr. Obeng-Andoh’s practice endangered the lives of his patients hence the move to stop his operations.
Following threats by the Council to lock up his hospital, he sought an injunction on the Council’s action but the case was dismissed after the judge found that Dr. Obeng-Andoh’s lawyer was not qualified to initiate the legal process at the time of filing the application.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
