There is no element of discrimination in granting licenses to medical officers. This is the response from the registrar of the Medical and Dental Council Dr. Eli Kwasi Atikpui to accusations of discrimination by Ghana trained Nigerian doctors.
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Nigerian medical officers are not being denied licenses - MDC
MDC registrar was responding to allegations that the Council is being discriminatory in handing out licenses to medical officers who want to practice in Ghana.
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He has been accused by the medical officers of refusing to hand out licenses to Nigerian medical officers who want to practice in Ghana.
Pulse.com.gh reported the complaints of some Nigerian medical officers who have been waiting of months to get a license to practice medicine in Ghana after filing their applications.
One of the medical officers who spoke to Pulse.com.gh on condition of anonymity said she had fulfilled the entire requirement for the license but has waited for almost a year to get a license which is normally ready in a month or less.
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But Dr. Atikpui says this could only happen when the board is not satisfied with the application submitted by a medical officer.
“They applied for the license with the information which is required but as to whether they have met the requirement is for the board to decide. If your license has taken too long then you have not met the requirement.”
But the requirement as stated in the law is very open and not specific. This Dr. Atikpui thinks is to avoid restricting people who otherwise could have qualified.
But Nigerians medical officers who are still waiting on their licenses are convinced there may be a ploy to prevent them from practicing in Ghana as they have met all the requirements.
Dr. Atikpui showed Pulse.com.gh about seven applications of people of different nationalities including Ghana who have not met the requirements for the licence. He indicated that a statutory declaration is a requirement for all medical officers who want a license and not peculiar to only Nigerians.
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“It is not only Nigerians that are having challenges,” Atikpui said, "we work in a public institution we cannot turn anybody out.”
He said those whose licenses have delayed should walk into the office of the Medical and Dental Council for detailed explanations on why their registrations are not ready. But the medical officers claim the registrar has refused to see them on several occasion.
"When we go there he practically shouts at us and says he doesn't want to see us," one of the Nigerian medical officers said.
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