Anesthetists, Physician Assistants Appeal For Separation From Medical And Dental Council

The Ghana Physician Assistants Association and the Ghana Association of Certified Anesthetists are appealing to the Ministry of Health to urgently take steps to establish a new regulatory body that will regulate their practice.

The two associations, which are currently members of the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) say the Council has been treating them unfairly and has over the years taken various steps aimed at undermining them.

In a statement to declare solidarity with the Association of Certified Anaesthetists for their call to be separated from the MDC, the Physician Assistants said the call for a new regulatory body should not be delayed any further and suggested a 2022 deadline.

“The call for a separate regulatory body for these two health care cadres should not be delayed any further because we have been treated unfairly by the regulator (MDC) for almost a decade. There have been several overt and covert attempts by the MDC to suppress the scope of practice of Physician Assistants and Certified Registered Anaesthetists through curriculum overhauling, clandestine machinations to amend the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act 857 (2013), and the recent draft Scope of Practice document for Physician Assistants and Certified Registered Anaesthetists, among others,” the statement said.

The association said the MDC has continuously demonstrated that they are not needed at the Council, and so they will, together with the certified anaesthetists, make their voices heard on the subject since the efforts to use diplomatic means and dialogue has not achieved the desired results.

Read the full statement below: