Health
The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, on Monday said that it would ensure that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) continues to function as the regulatory body for medical practice in the country.
The president of the association, Dr Francis Faduyile, made the declaration in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
He spoke in reaction to the newly-inaugurated governing council of the MDCN.
NAN reports that the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, had on Nov. 9, 2018 inaugurated the new governing council of the MDCN.
Adewole had said that the role of the council was to provide effective oversight and strategic guidance and urged all members to strictly adhere to principles that define their offices.
Faduyile said: “We will do everything possible to make sure that we do not have any period that the council is not on ground.
“So that medical practice can be made a serious business which will translate to a better management of the illnesses of Nigerians.
The NMA president said that with the inauguration of the council, it would be able to regulate and operate the curriculum for undergraduate training in the country.
According to him, medical education is undergoing important changes and Nigeria needs to key into it.
“A large number of medical practices are not well regulated; one of them is the technology based management practice, including issues of digital and e-Health.
“We do not have a law regulating it in Nigeria, as well as other technology-based management which include Invitro Fertilisation (IVF), organ donation and transplantation.
“We do not have a law that controls them and these are the areas we want the MDCN to work upon,’’ he said.
Faduyile also said that part of the functions of the MDCN was to discipline members who were not working within its ethical provisions.
“If we do not have a way of correcting any member, then it means that anybody can do whatever he or she likes.
“It is the investigative panel and the council that can do all that. Also, the normal regulations, such as those barring adverts, not to take your colleague’s patients and so on, all fall within the purview of the council.
“We have a lot of quacks in the profession, causing the deaths of Nigerians every day.
“It is only when we have a council that we can appropriately deal with such issues and these are some of the benefits we have to enjoy having the council in place.
The NMA is the professional association for Nigerian doctors and dentists.
The association has more than 35,000 members from 36 state branches and the branch from the federal capital territory, including those registered in the Diaspora. It was founded in 1951. (NAN)
– Nov. 13, 2018 @ 11:59 GMT |
Tags: MDCN remains regulatory body for medical practice — NMA
