Dr. Obeng-Andoh Has No "Specialist Qualification & Licence" To Operate In Ghana - Medical & Dental Council

The Medical and Dental Council says Dr. Dominic Obeng-Andoh of the Obengfo Hospital has "no specialist qualification" registered with Council which entitles him to undertake liposuction and transfer surgery in Ghana.

According to a statement issued by the Council and copied to Peacefmonline.com, want to inform the general public that Dr. Obeng-Andoh has no license and is unqualified to operate in the country; however the doctor has refused to respect the "regulator, the law, the Court and the administration of justice".

The Council narrated sanctions it has taken against Dr. Obeng-Andoh and his hospital, and further efforts to rectify his incorrigible character.

The Council has expressed concerns about Dr. Obeng-Andoh's conduct, competence and professional ethics as follows;

"In 2003 Dr. Obeng-Andoh and a colleague performed surgery on a patient who later complained to the Council (May 12, 2003) alleging among others that he was not competently managed by them. Council investigated the matter and found Dr. Obeng-Andoh and the colleague culpable and appropriate sanctions were accordingly applied. Even though the senior colleague duly served his sanction, Dr. Obeng-Andoh refused to serve part of his sanction in spite of reminders from Council’s solicitors. That Dr. Obeng-Andoh was suspended by Council on September 6, 2012 from the practice of medicine for three (3) years following a disciplinary committee decision that he was guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect for advertising contrary to section 3 of the Medical Profession (Professional Conduct and Ethics) Regulations, 1975.

" . . strangely, in January, 2013 Dr. Obeng-Andoh visited the Secretariat of Council to pay his registration fee ostensibly to renew his registration. He was then reminded that given that he was serving a disciplinary sanction, he could not renew his registration until the sanction was fully and duly served. The Council subsequently received information that in spite of the suspension Dr. Obeng-Andoh was nonetheless practising with impunity and in fragrant disregard for the rules, regulation and legislation governing medical practice in Ghana...Dr. Dominic Obeng- Andoh has no specialist qualification registered with Council that entitles him to undertake LIPOSUCTION and FAT TRANSFER surgery in Ghana", the statement read.

The Council continued that "in a letter dated December 29, 2016, requested for information on the status of the Obengfo hospital from the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA) and in a response dated January 5, 2017 Council received confirmation that the Obengfo hospital was not licenced as required by law and was therefore operating illegally.

Dr. Obeng-Andoh’s hospital (Obenfo Hospital situated at Weija, Accra) was subsequently closed down on January 5, 2017 by Council with the assistance of the Police on account of public health and safety and in accordance with law after adequate arrangements had been made to safely move patients to 37 Military hospital to ensure their care was not compromised.

" . . Even before this first application could be heard by the Court, Dr. Obeng- Andoh without lawful authority reopened the hospital to unsuspecting members of the public . . . There is the civil part of the case of practising without registration and operating a hospital without it being licenced as required by law. Council’s solicitors were in Court on May 21, 2018, seeking to set the original Writ of Summons aside. Once again, Dr. Obeng- Andoh’s lawyers came to plead for more time and the Court obliged them and awarded costs against Dr. Obeng- Andoh.

The criminal component was put before Court on June 1, 2018 following A-G’s review and advice but the case was adjourned to June 5, 2018 because Dr. Dominic Obeng- Andoh did not appear on account of ill health. The case was again called yesterday but the Court received a medical report on the accused and subsequently granted an application by the prosecution for an order directed at the Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge- Accra to produce the accused in Court on the next adjourned date (Friday, June 8, 2018)".

The Medical and Dental Council is further warning the general public against engaging the practices by the Obengfo Hospital.

" . .This is a clear case of a practitioner who has shown no respect for the regulator, the law, the Court and the administration of justice. The Council will continue to collaborate with other institutions, civil society, individuals and groups as well as members of the general public in delivering on its mandate. Regulation is collective and collaborative work; the Council has the mandate, but we ALL have a role to play because we are ALL potential patients".