A student activist and an aspiring Vice General Secretary of the Ghana Physician Assistants association of Ghana,Nuhu Abdul Ganiyu Kantama has descended heavily on Dr. Joseph Tia Akama over what he describes an attempt by the cardiologist to dent the image of physician assistants.

According to him, it was improper and derogatory for the cardiologist to say on a JoyNews PM Personality Profile Programme that once you have more doctors, you don't need physician assistants, adding that,physician assistants are only sent to hospitals where there are no doctors. He emphasised on the need to train more doctors as a country that can boast of five medical schools.

These comments by the cardiologist seem to have infuriated the student activist who maintains in a statement that,physician assistants are well trained professionals regulated by Medical and Dental Council to practice medicine in Ghana.He further stated that the same body that regulates the practice of Dr.Joseph Tia Akama is the same body that regulates physician assistants in Ghana.

"Contrary to what he said,Physician Assistants are well trained professionals regulated by Medical and Dental Council to practice medicine in Ghana. The same body that regulates the practice of Dr. Joseph Tia Akama is the same body that regulates Physician Assistants profession in Ghana.Thus his comments were not only insults on only Physician Assistants but to Medical and Dental Council of Ghana,the Ministry of Health, and the training institutions that train Physician Assistants across the country,"he said.

Read the full statement below:

I have noted with disgust an attempt by Dr. Joseph Tia Akama a cardiologist at Korle-bu Teaching Hospital to dent the image of PAs by making derogatory remarks about the Physician Assistants profession during an interview on PM Personality Profile on JoyNews at about 9pm on Friday, September 28, 2018.
Dr. Josepth Tia Akama said,

"Ones you have more doctors you don't need PAs now because we don't have a lot of doctors.The health system is bringing in PAs and they are going to be competing with doctors and they are not well trained as the doctors.I don't want to go into fight with them but we have to be serious as a country. If you are training doctors, you train them well,give them something to look up to,aptitude,empathy,let them be doctors and then let them go.Why are there hospitals with no doctors?that you need to put PAs.Now you are strugling with them,why?

Why are there medical schools,five medical schools that you are not training more people.Get them more trainers to train them and then suddenly you don't need middle people even if you need middle people they stringently supervised.But you release these people they are not well trained and but they have to do the work but we need them because the hospitals have nobody and so don't get me wrong.In places where there is nobody a PA is needed but a doctor should have been there".

Contrary to what he said,Physician Assistants are well trained professionals regulated by Medical and Dental Council to practice medicine in Ghana. The same body that regulates the practice of Dr. Joseph Tia Akama is the same body that regulates Physician Assistants profession in Ghana.

Thus his comments were not only insults on only Physician Assistants but to Medical and Dental Council of Ghana, The Ministry of Health, and the training institutions that train Physician Assistants across the country.

How many of those Dr. Joseph Tia Akama claimed to be well trained are currently residing in Bongo taking good care of his family?

Doesn’t he think his comments are insults to himself for abandoning his parents and relatives to people who are not well trained to cater for at Bongo in the Upper East Region whilst he sleeps under air conditioned room and comes out to speak rubbish?

His comments are derogatory and in bad faith. We are not an alternative to medical officers and wish to call on Ghana Physician Assistants Association, Graduate Physician Assistants Association of Ghana, Medical and Dental Council, the Ministry of Health Ghana and all institutions that train Physician Assistants across the country to call Dr. Joseph Tia Akama to order. We demand an unqualified apology from him through the medium where he sat and made those comments.