Associations lament increasing rate of quacks in laboratory practice in Gombe PHC’s
The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (AMLSN), Gombe State branch in conjunction with Association of Medical Laboratory Technicians and Assistants of Nigeria (AMLTAN), Gombe State branch on Wednesday lamented the stifling population of quacks claiming to be professionals in Primary Healthcare Centres in the state.
The Associations made this disclosure following reports of fake genotype certificates where some primary healthcare facilities were said to be involved in issuing illicit medical reports for favours.
Addressing Journalists during a joint briefing, AMLSN’s Chairman Ochacha Ahmed, said based on the Associations’ investigation the Gombe PHC’s had unlicensed staff, adding that most of them had varying specialisations.
Our Correspondent reports that the Association’s briefing was following WikiTimes’ publication, where some personnel within the investigated PHC’s in Gombe metropolis were said to have doctored laboratory results barring the consequences.
Ahmed stated that the department exists in Primary Healthcare Centres without board, to enable supervision and professionalism, saying the department of Medical Laboratory Services would enhance the responsibilities of running and managing the laboratories at the PHCs.
He said, “As part of the outcome of our investigation, it will surprise you to know that, the laboratories at the PHCs are flooded with unlicensed personnel (particularly those that read science lab technology, Botany, Biochemistry etc).
“The worst case was to note that as important as the laboratory investigations in healthcare services to the citizens at the grassroots, the PHC law of Gombe state do not take cognisance of the service, to make deliberate provisions to accommodate representation of the professionals in the constitution of the board of the PHC and the department is not even in existence meanwhile the PHCs are running all sort of laboratory investigations without proper supervision, making them theater of dishing out fake results for tokens which jeopardizes lives of residents of the state.”
While describing the perpetrators of fake test results as ‘charlatans’, “who impersonate and parade themselves as Medical Laboratory Scientists or Technicians. How they got into those Primary Health Care (PHC) laboratories was beyond our scope of investigation.
“We therefore dissociate ourselves as responsible medical laboratory professionals from such scam,” Ahmed said.
Commending the State Government for its transformation in healthcare delivery especially in Specialist Hospital, the Associations urged for immediate termination of appointments of volunteers in the department
Ahmed added, “Gombe state is privileged to have several training institutions (both private and public) who are already trained Medical Laboratory Technicians and have graduated a good number of them roaming about without job. We also have unemployed licenced Medical Laboratory Scientists looking for job here and Therefore, we advice that those trained professionals be employed at the PHCs laboratories as a matter of urgency to save the lives of the innocent citizens at the grassroots facilities.
“The government should involve members of the profession in the process of recruiting personnel for Medical Laboratory Services. This will ensure that appropriate personnels are engaged.
“That the existing non professionals should as a matter of urgency be released to other departments based on their requisite qualification or seek for further studies to aquire the prerequisite knowledge for Medical Laboratory Services.”
