Fake doctor arrested in Accra
A man alleged to have failed the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC) examination on three occasions has been arrested for practising as a doctor without a licence.
The suspect, Mr Richard Acquah, was arrested at the Royal Star Clinic at Kotobabi in Accra while he was busy attending to patients.
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Tip-off
Briefing the media in Accra on Thursday, January 25, 2018, the Registrar of the GMDC, Dr Eli Kwasi Atikpui, said Acquah was arrested upon a tip-off by some persons who doubted his professionalism.
He indicated that the council received the complaint in December, 2017 after which background investigations were conducted, leading to the arrest of Acquah on January 24, 2018 with the assistance of the Kotobabi Police.
He explained that the council, after it had received the complaint, went through its data base to find out if it had a registered medical practitioner by the name Richard Acquah.
During the search, Dr Atikpui said, it was established that Acquah was a Ghanaian who had his medical training at the M. Gorky Donestk National Medical University and the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University in Ukraine and completed in June 2015.
It was also revealed that Acquah registered as a physician assistant with the council in 2011 but failed to renew his licence annually as required.
Examinations
In 2015, Acquah is said to have registered for the October 2015 examination for foreign-trained doctors but he failed the examination.
Later, Acquah took two more examinations conducted by the council in October 2016 and November 2017 but failed to pass both exams.
Foreign-trained medical practitioners who fail such exams are given letters of introduction by the council to enable them to undertake an attachment for a period of six months.
After the attachment, the council permits such persons to retake the exam but Acquah failed to take the introductory letter to an accredited hospital for an attachment for that period.
On Monday, January 22, 2018, a team from the investigations unit of the council were dispatched to locate the Royal Star Clinic and it was found that Acquah, who had failed the council’s examination for foreign-trained doctors on three occasions, was practising at the facility.
A police complaint was filed and Acquah was subsequently arrested for practising medicine without the required licence and registration with the council.