MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTISTS KICK AGAINST AMENDMENT OF MLSCN ACT.

 
The association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (MLSCN)  are  kicking against the attempt by the federal ministry of health to sponsor a bill to the national Assembly to amend the MLSCN Act Cap M25, LFN 2004, saying it is not only inimical to their professional interest but also against public interest.

They said such act should be stopped  before it brought embarrassment to the fragile Nigeria health system. “The proposed amendment is a retrogressive agenda solely for the aggrandizement of a section of the health system.
Unarguably, the amendment will make worse the precarious and very deplorable Nigeria health indices.”

The association presented their position in a statement read by the National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, during its special general meeting held on Saturday at the multipurpose hall of the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Gombe.

They said the attempt is a deliberate strategy by some unscrupulous persons who are using there political and administrative positions to render the medical laboratory profession in Nigeria extinct and confer dual roles of both medicine and laboratory science to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN).

“It is quite unfortunate that under the auspices of the federal ministry of health, the trio of the NMA and MDCAN, inclusive of the College of Nigerian Pathologists are now hell-bent at using their vantage political and administrative positions to wreak havoc on the development and practice of medical laboratory science profession in Nigeria.”

According to them the moves and disposition is in contradiction to international standard and global trends as such Nigeria should not deviate from what is being practice globally. They further noted that the proposed amendment will warrant a perilous situation where everyone can practice and provide medical laboratory services discretionally , anywhere and anyhow without regulatory control, stressing that such a situation will be catastrophic for the public and the health system.

The professional body further disclosed that the federal government cannot be talking about amendment when all the issues in the proposed amendment have been addressed by various courts in eight judicial interpretations and declaratory judgements across the country. They said in all the judgements declared in favour of MLSCN, the judiciary holds that, “the Medical Laboratory Science is a profession distinct from Medicine and that there is no conflict between the MLSCN Act Cap M25, LFN 2004 and the MDCN Act Cap M8, LFN 2004.