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Registrar at the Ghana Medical and Dental Council Dr. Eli Atikpui,  has said the council will not be compelled to meet the demands of one Dr. Richard Seidu Abrahamani, a trained neurosurgeon who is fighting the council for his license.

According to him, the council was put in place by an act of parliament, the health profession regulatory body act 2013, act 857 and is governed by rules and regulations for dentist and surgeon practice in Ghana.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia programme, he reiterated that, the council works through processes and procedures and that he Dr. Atipkui cannot take any decision on his own to infringe on anyone’s fundamental human right.

The MDC has a mandate “to secure in the public interest, highest standard in the training and practice of medicine and dentistry in Ghana,” he said insisting that the doctor does not meet their qualification to be certified.

"In Ghana, neurosurgeons are expected to train for a period of not less than 6 years. For those who trained outside the country, they are expected to work under the supervision of a certified neurosurgeon upon their return for a period of time before they can take the examination to be certified".

“It is when he is given the clearance that he can have a patient responsibility,” Dr. Atikpui explained.

The Council head says Dr. Seidu does not meet these requirements, and therefore, cannot be granted the licence to practice. However, he has the opportunity to make an appearance before the credentials committee on January 2019, to be cleared before he can take the examination.

The fact that Ghana lack Doctors, does not mean we can accept anybody into the institute, he stressed.

He therefore asked Dr. Seidu to follow due process to have his issues  resolved.

Ho-based medical doctor, Richard Abrahamani Seidu, has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the refusal of the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) to grant him a practicing licence.

Dr. Seidu who claimed he was trained in China, as neurosurgeon, says since 2015 when he applied to the MDC to be granted licence to practice in the country, he has heard nothing from the regulatory body.

As he continues to wait in earnest for that opportunity, Dr. Seidu, who returned to country in June 2018 after his PhD programme in China, has been driving taxi in the Volta Regional capital, Ho to earn a living. 

He has sworn to fight till the end to have his license restored.