Lab scientists fight doctors over control

The Ghana Association of Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (GABMLS) has strongly opposed the deliberate attempts by some medical doctors of the Ghana Laboratory Medicine Faculty of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) to infiltrate and capture the management of medical laboratories in the country.

According to the association, there are attempts at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to remove highly qualified medical laboratory scientists as laboratory heads and replace them with medical doctors of the GCPS.

“The association condemns this deliberate act of disrespect for medical laboratory scientists in the strongest terms,” GABMLS stated at the just-ended NEC meeting in Accra.

Justifying the need to maintain medical laboratory scientists and managers of hospital laboratory, GABMLS said its members are highly qualified, with some holding qualifications as high as MSc/Mphil and PhD, including managerial skills and training.

The association said its members are, therefore, capable of effectively and efficiently managing the medical laboratories far better than the medical doctors, whose duty is to interpret laboratory results to fellow clinicians on the wards rather than idling in the laboratories as heads.

“Indeed, WHO standards and ISO 15189, to which Ghana has subscribed through the adoption of the SLMTA/SLIPTA programmes require that the medical laboratories should be headed by qualified medical laboratory scientists. It is, therefore, unacceptable for medical laboratory scientists to be pushed aside in the management of medical laboratories in Ghana,” a communiqué jointly signed by GABMLS President, Thomas Kwabena Gyampomah and General Secretary, Michael Amo Omari stressed.

The GABMLS furthermore declared that it would resist any attempt by GCPS and management of the teaching hospitals to implant medical doctors in its laboratories as heads.

“We here again call 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,” it stated.

Single Spine Salary Structure

The association also raised issues with the unfair placement of chief biomedical scientists and the technical officers (holders of Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology) of the profession on the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) compared to the analogous grade group by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).

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

The GABMLS, therefore, entreated the GHS and FWSC to immediately ensure that those 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 imminent upheaval from our membership that may further compound the industrial unrest in the health sector.

“GABMLS is also mindful of the ongoing negotiations for Categories 2 and 3 allowances for public sector workers between government and organised labour and urges the FWSC and MOH to ensure that all cadres of the medical laboratory science are fairly treated and given acceptable conditions of service,” it added.

Unqualified Lab Scientists

The GABMLS has also raised concerns over what it calls the recruitment of some unqualified health workers by the Ghana Health Service into medical laboratories of some district hospitals, especially in the Upper East region and some mission hospitals in the Northern Region.

Whilst condemning this act, the GABMLS has urged the Human Resource Directorate of the GHS, Upper East Regional Health Directorate and Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) Authorities to ensure that the appointments of all unqualified persons are revoked immediately.

“The GABMLS further urge the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) to as a matter of urgency investigate these reports, and to bring facilities that engage unqualified personnel in their laboratories to book to serve as a deterrent,” it said.