Physician assistants who successfully completed their top-up programs for the award of a Bachelor’s degree in Community Medicine and Health in 2016 and 2017 have still not received their certificates.
Several attempts by the over 600 students to retrieve their certificates from the College of Health and Well-being in Kintampo since 2017 have proven unsuccessful.
The secretary for the physician assistants, Obed Agbokpey indicated that the Ministry of Health and the College of Health and Well-being in Kintampo have unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld their certificate.
“We don’t know the actual reason but they are accusing us that we have not done due diligence. Meanwhile, before the program started we had a letter to go and do it from the Ministry and Ghana Health Service. The National Accreditation Board and UCC sent their delegates to inspect the facility and all the other necessary things. So before we even wrote the paper, we made sure that the program has been accredited to a particular school. The evidence was there to confirm everything and we also had an admission letter to go and do a top-up,” he said.
Unemployed physician assistants demonstrate
Some unemployed physician assistants had earlier threatened not to leave the premises of the Health Ministry until they were given specific timelines on when they will be posted.
The about 40 physician assistants who graduated from the Kintampo College of Health in 2016 claimed several calls on authorities for posting seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
Having graduated from the health college and following all due to process to attain their certification from the Medical and Dental Council, the physician assistants expressed shock at the government’s posture of not addressing their concerns.
But a deputy Minister of Health, Alex Abban who received the petition of the physician assistants revealed that plans are far advanced to get them employed.
“I will convey your concerns to the Minister. Let me assure you that, we have already had discussions with the Ministry of Finance on the matter. Don’t be agitated because the point is that we are dealing with a very big issue.”