Cabinet Approves Medical College

The Minister of Health, Dr. Richard Winfred Anane has announced a Cabinet approval for the establishment of a Medical College as proposed by the Medical and Dental Council.

Dr. Richard Anane disclosed this at the maiden Continuing Medical Education seminar organised by the Medical and Dental Council in Accra yesterday. The two-day seminar is under the theme 'Infectious Diseases' with over eighty medical practitioners attending.

Dr. Anane said that the legal framework of the college is being worked out for its take-off soon. He further disclosed that the Ministry has created a website for the dual purposes of communication and education. This, he said, will enable medical practitioners to keep abreast with development in medicine through journals and exchange of ideas and experiences on the Internet.

The Minister added that the Ministry of Health has put in place an in-service training policy for staff in the medical sector to provide quality care at all levels. He said it is intended to meet the constantly changing health needs of the country and is in line with the focus of the Ministry's objective of providing quality care to all its clients.

Outlining the objective of the training, Dr. Anane said it is to put in place a more systematic continuing education system that is linked to the delivery and practice of quality care, and staff performance appraisal.

He said that the Ministry is working on revalidation and re-certification of medical practitioners, and continuing professional development would be a pre-requisite for promotion and continuation of practice.

The Minister painted a horrific picture of the future of tuberculosis in Ghana.

"Without good TB controls the impact of HIV/AIDS in the society will be devastating. It is estimated that there would be additional 30,000 new TB cases attributable to HIV/AIDS by the year 2015. This means Ghana will be reporting 80,000 new TB cases annually in the year 2015."

He described malaria as hyper endemic in Ghana since it accounts for over 40% of all out patients seen at all health facilities and an estimated 10-20% of under-five mortality in some areas in Ghana.

He said additional medical staff and District Health Management Teams would be trained to control Buruli Ulcer nation wide. Over 1,100 cases have been reported, he added.

Dr. Anane called on NGOs and other companies to support the health sector for the development of quality care services in Ghana. He urged all to consolidate the already existing partnership within the health sector.

The Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council, Professor Paul K. Nyame disclosed that the council has embarked on an inspection exercise of medical and dental schools' examinations to ensure high quality training. Further, he said, to ensure that foreign trained doctors and dentists who wish to practice permanently in Ghana are of acceptable standard, the council is pushing ahead with an examination, which needs to be passed before registration of such doctors.

"We shall not be derailed by unacceptable arguments by those who are unsuccessful. We are keeping government properly informed about this examination," he said.