Doctors Asked To Abide By Professional Ethics

The Medical and Dental Council (MDC) has urged doctors to be guided by the ethics of the profession and also try to keep proper records of their engagements with patients. The Chairman of the MDC, Dr Eric Asamoa, who made the call, expressed dissatisfaction at the increasing complaints that people lodged with the council against doctors in the country. He said many people were becoming aware of their right to quality medical care, hence the increase in the number of complaints. Dr Asamoa expressed the concern at the induction of newly qualified doctors into the MDC in Accra on Friday. New doctors The 37 medical practitioners, who had their training in countries including Cuba, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Tanzania, were admitted to the medical profession after passing the GMA examination. After the induction, the doctors � 24 males and 13 females � have been posted to various hospitals to do housemanship for about a year. Ethics The MDC Chairman said the increasing complaints against doctors were a worrying feature. He could not immediately mention the number of reported cases, but indicated that the number was high. He said cases reported were mainly against the conduct of medical practitioners in the delivery of medical service. Dr Asamoa stressed the need for doctors to be reminded of the oaths that they had sworn to serve. Penalty The penalties against a doctor who is found guilty of misconduct include a reprimand, a suspension or cancellation of his registration by the MDC. New Act Dr Asamoa reminded doctors that an act had been promulgated which enjoined all medical practitioners to register with the MDC. Besides, he said, every doctor was required to renew his or her licence ever year. The act stipulated that any doctor who practised without registering with the MDC or renewing his registration would not be allowed to practise in Ghana, he said. The MDC chairman told the new doctors that the act required them to work under supervision and warned that any new doctor who violated that provision faced a 10-year jail term.