Kumasi, Sept. 11, GNA – The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) has welcomed the NDC’s manifesto promise to establish a Medical Laboratory Service Council (MLSC) when it wins the December elections.
GAMLS says it was happy that the major opposition party in the country had recognized the need for the establishment of a Medical Laboratory Service Council (MLSC) to regulate the practice of the profession, a proposal which had been on the table since 1973.
A statement signed by Dr Dennis Adu-Gyasi, the Public Relations Officer of GAMLS and issued in Kumasi, said the establishment of the Council was the only way to ensure that Ghanaians benefited most from the services that medical laboratory science professionals provided in the country’s healthcare delivery system.
According to the Association, the MLSC would offer the required independence, as suggested and presented in the Scheme of Service developed for health laboratory services by the Head of Civil Service as far back as 1989, when Dr Mrs Mary Grant, was the Deputy Secretary for Health under the PNDC.
The establishment of the Council, according to the Association, was also in line with international best practice.
The statement said the need for a Council to govern the practice and operations of the sector was a source of agitation among medical laboratory scientists and for which GAMLS had embarked on industrial actions in recent times.
The Association, therefore, welcomed the creation of the Council as promised by the National Democratic Congress in its 2020 elections manifesto.
The statement also commended NDC for its plans to establish two National Infections Disease Centres and to develop strategies to reduce the cost of health care by promoting local production of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostic test kits.
The NDC, on page 64, section 7.1.3 of its People’s Manifesto, 2020-2025, which was launched on September 07, this year, promised to establish a Medical Laboratory Science Council in the country, if it was elected into office.
GNA