Medical Laboratory Scientists have cautioned personnel in the health sector to desist from compromising standards and professional ethics because of money.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Peak Medical Laboratory limited, Manason Garkuwa, who gave the warning in his remarks at the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors 24th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Abuja on Tuesday, also said that bureaucracy in government office affects the practice in medical laboratories.
Garkuwa, who was Chairman of the occasion, averred that the practice of medical laboratory science can best be seen when most of the practitioners in the private practice performed optimally, adding that the best and quickest results are seen within the private sector.
While noting that the quality of laboratory tests has three characteristics, reliability, accuracy and timeliness, he contended that the public is only interested in timeliness.
The Medical Laboratory Scientists, who retired from the civil service as a director, said he was a sad person in the country because practitioners are reducing their capacity and knowledge in the science of medical laboratory by importing virtually everything.
He accused some medical practitioners of cutting corners, saying, “The love of money is making us to compromise our practice. We have the duty to change this kind of mentality. We should show that we are people of integrity and bound by ethical code of conduct by not emphasizing on money.”
He advised Medical Health Scientists to seek first professional knowledge and skill, stressing that with that; other things would come their way.
In his welcome address, the National President of the Guild of Private Medical Laboratory Directors of Nigeria, Prince Elochukwu Adibo stated that “Our major objective is to promote the maintenance of high professional and ethical standards in private medical laboratory practice, ensuring that medical laboratory test results are of the highest reliability and applying quality management system while assisting regulatory authorities to uphold these standards and stamp out any form of quackery and malpractice that will impact on the substance and image of the medical laboratory profession and practice.”
Prince Adibo said that one of the greatest challenges for the Nigerian people in healthcare access is often a catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditure, noting however that its solution lies in health insurance.
In his address, Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Mr Ikechukwu Ononuju, noted that the theme of the conference, “Genomic Revolution in Healthcare Industry: The Untapped Gold Mine for Investors and Private Sectors” was not only apt but should be of great interest to all directors who are also entrepreneurs in the medical diagnostic industry.
“This is so because there is a huge need to massively upgrade the level of our practice in private medical laboratories in Nigeria to meet up with the current global trend in the sector.”
Vanguard
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