Proposal for Medical and Dental Council to Develop Supervision Model by Mr. Mahama Asei Seini the Deputy Minister for Health
During the induction of 349 newly qualified physician assistants in the medical, oral health, and anaesthesia fields into practice in Accra on Friday, the Deputy Minister for Health, Mr. Mahama Asei Seini, called for the Medical and Dental Council to establish a supervision model to regulate the works of doctors, dentist, physician assistants, and their training institutions. Mr. Seini emphasized the need for the model to secure the public interest and ensure high standards in the training and practice of the profession.
The new medical professionals were trained in 15 different private and public universities and colleges across the country, and they will augment the current strength of about 6,642 physician assistants serving in various parts of the country. Mr. Seini urged the Council to conduct monitoring visits to all accredited physician assistant training schools to check their level of compliance, as some schools have low standards of training. Any training school that is no longer in compliance with the Council’s standards must be de-accredited, he added.
Mr. Seini also disclosed that the Ministry would conduct a needs assessment to determine the number of physician assistants required to deliver optimal healthcare services in the country. He advised the professionals to serve the populace with diligence, integrity, dedication, and respect.
During the induction ceremony, Dr. Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, who inducted the practitioners, said their transition from students to practitioners implied that human lives were directly entrusted into their care. He urged them to promote and protect the public’s health, safety, and well-being by assuring and maintaining confidence and trust in the medical profession and its members.
He also asked them to promote and maintain public confidence in the healthcare system by prescribing and enforcing professional standards in their line of work. The Council would monitor and track their performance during their internship, and he advised them to give their best during this time. Dr. Banyubala emphasized that the profession required them to give a gentle smile, be a listening ear, have a kind heart, calm nerves, and have a humble, decent, gentle, and reassuring persona, all clothed in integrity and respect for human dignity.