The Traditional Medicine Practice Council has rolled out capacity building Programmes for Traditional and Alternative Healthcare Assistants, to effectively regulate their practice in the
country.
The programme comes in the wake of increased adverse reactions associated with traditional and alternative medicinal products usually
marketed on commuter vehicles, coupled with unethical practices and unprofessional misconducts exhibited by some of the practitioners.
At the opening of the first in the series of the training programme in Accra, the Registrar of the Council, Mr Hlortsi Akakpo said the situation
called for the institution of swift regulatory responses.
The programme was on the theme: "Capacity Building for Quality Traditional and Alternative Health Service."
Mr Akakpo said notably among the interventions were the strict enforcement of laws, rules and regulations governing the practice, capacity
building programmes, continuing professional development programmes and increased information education and the adoption of multi-disciplinary
approach, to effectively regulate the traditional and alternative medicine profession.
Topics being treated include Overview of Traditional and Alternative Medicine, the Patient Charter of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health service, Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, Basics in First Aid, Medical Record Keeping and an Overview of the 10 Commonly Occurring Diseases in Ghana.
According to Mr Akakpo, another urgent intervention is to how to stop the activities of unqualified persons engaged by the private health facility operators to offer medical care.
"These persons undertake duties similar to those of nurses, dispensers, among other things in the traditional and alternative healthcare settings," he said, and adding that it was obvious that the support activities provided by those staff were not only dangerous to public health and safety, but also undermined the quality assurance in healthcare delivery.
For this reason, Mr Akakpo said the Council had designed a training module tailored to the needs of the youth, for capacity building towards
safe quality and effective traditional alternative health service.
The objective, he said was to protect public safety, through quality care, strict enforcement of standards and professionalism and also develop
the knowledge, competencies, skill and attitudes required for quality basic delivery, particularly at the primary healthcare level.
The Chairman of the Council, Dr Emmanuel Mensah said the training was necessary because developing employable skills of practitioners had become more relevant, against the background of the human resource inadequacy challenges that had bedevilled the health sector over the years, adding that the general well being of society is paramount.
Mr Alexander Gabby Hottordze of the (MOH) said the ministry recognised the importance of traditional and alternative medicine and that there was the need for the government to extend its hand to the private sector in quality health delivery.
He noted that, increasing reports of adverse reaction of drugs purchased at lorry parks was creating a lot of panic to consumers therefore
the traditional and alternative healthcare would ensure an effective regulation of the practice in the country.
Mr Hottordze said if traditional and alternative healthcare was practiced in hospitals, Ghanaians would benefit.
Representatives of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Ghana Alternative Practitioners Association and the Ghana Traditional Chinese Medicine Association welcomed the programme and urged members to take advantage of it and set good examples to enable the practice become acceptable as alternative remedies for treatment.