Allied Health Professions Council Warns Against Employing Unqualified Staff in Health Facilities
The Allied Health Professions Council has warned health facilities against employing unqualified persons to manage patient data or perform specialised healthcare services, describing the practice as a violation of the law.
The warning follows compliance checks conducted by the Council in the Ho Zonal Area, where officials observed that several facilities were using persons who were not appropriately qualified or licensed for certain roles.
Speaking to Citi News, Registrar of the Council, Professor Issahaku Shirazu, said almost all the facilities visited were using unqualified persons as health front desk officers instead of trained data managers.
“We have also seen that almost all the facilities we visited seem to be using non-qualified professionals as health front desk officers. This is by law an offence; they are supposed to have data managers.”
Professor Shirazu said the Council would write to all the facilities in the region to remind them that persons responsible for managing patient data must first be cleared by the Council.
“We will write to every single facility in the region and let them know that it is an offence to employ somebody to manage patient data without first seeking with the Council.”
He also raised concerns about healthcare professionals performing duties outside their areas of training, particularly in dental clinics where nurses are allegedly being used to perform specialised roles for which they have not been trained or licensed.
“Our own colleagues have employed quacks. We call them quacks because even if you’re a healthcare professional and you go and practice as a radiographer, you’re a quack. You’re not qualified to do that.”
Professor Shirazu cited instances where nurses were allegedly being used in dental clinics despite lacking the required training and licensing to perform such specialised duties.
He said persons performing such roles must be appropriately trained and licensed by the Council before they are allowed to practise in those areas.
