The National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr Casmir Ifeanyi has described quackery in the health institutions as a grave threat to patients and the society at large.
Dr Ifeanyi, who made this observation during the 18th annual public lecture of the association in Abakaliki, posited that the only way out of the quackery menace is by enlightening the people, victims and potential victims.
“The worry we have about quackery which we are complaining about is not the quackery that is happening in the private, that is easy to curtail. The quackery happening in public health institutions, those owned by the government, that is a major trouble. We have tagged that ‘guarded quackery.’ You are a quack under government protection.” He said.
Dr Ifeanyi spoke out against the practice of hiring nonqualified individuals to conduct medical tests, calling it a challenge, and accusing the government of enabling unqualified personnel in the field. He argues that this unauthorized practice is widespread in many states and demands action to ensure only trained professionals work in medical laboratories.
“When you employ someone who is not a medical laboratory scientist and post him to be conducting medical tests, he is there protected by the government as a quack. When you employ people in other professions outside Medical Laboratory Science and you deploy him to the medical laboratory, it’s a big challenge and that is the case in many states of the federation. The government is providing a shield for quacks,” he said.
