Allied Health Professions Council has expressed concern about lack of support from law enforcement agencies to weed out charlatans from the society.
It observed that several quacks have invaded the health delivery system and the harm being committed by them could not be underestimated.
Several cases, it said, had been reported to the police across the country about the charlatans or quacks, but now dead for lack of prosecution.
The Council, therefore, appealed for the necessary support to fight and swiftly deal with the offenders to protect the unsuspecting members of the society from the criminals.
Dr Samuel Yaw Opoku, Registrar of the Council, said these in a speech read on his behalf at the induction and swearing-in ceremony of 1,008 health professionals on Friday.
The ceremony was under the theme, “Improving access to quality healthcare: The role of the Allied Health Professional”.
Dr Opoku asked the public to immediately report to the council any suspicious activities of people who posed as allied health professionals for the necessary action to be taken.
He stressed the need for the Ministry of Health to consider establishing an Allied Health College to provide the opportunity to individuals to develop themselves professionally and specialise in various disciplines to enable them to offer the needed care to the population.
According to the Registrar, there was the urgent need for the ministry to support the council to phase out some four-year bachelor programmes to be replaced with six-year professional doctorates, and reminded the ministry that it had already approved those programmes developed by the West African Health Organisation.
He urged the graduands to work together with other health professionals to build a very strong healthcare team that would place the welfare of the clients and the Ghanaian population above all other interests.
Nana Boakye Yaw Ababio, Chief of Nkwantakese, who chaired the function appealed to the graduands to show respect to those already working to enable them to guide them to gain experience and become skilled professionals.
The chief, who was an allied health professional, told them to develop more skills in communication to be able to interact positively with their clients.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
