Dr. Raphael Buckle, newly elected President, Ghana Physicians & Surgeons Foundation in the United States, has said “ the group’s effort to extend free medical care and expertise to the people of Ghana had been riddled by the country’s systemic lapses ”

Dr. Buckle, whose election marked the beginning of the Foundation’s additional focus, and a transition from concentrating on post-graduate medical training to playing a role in Ghana’s health care policy direction, said, “we feel exasperated, but we will continue to explore all the possible means to help our people”

Outlining his vision for the Foundation at its 11th anniversary conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 19-21, Dr. Buckle, a specialist in pediatric, allergy and immunology in Atlanta, said “ the foundation has reached a critical point where membership drive would be intensified, and that a new blueprint will be introduced to capture the attention of other allied health workers in North America, “so that collectively we can assist Ghana”.

Buckle said: “our members willing to offer free medical care in Ghana have been unsettled by licensure and certification authentication problems, in addition to delays in approval by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council”.

Dr. Buckle illuminated how professional friends from other countries were willing to partner members of the Foundation to help Ghana, but encountered numerous problems that served as a disincentive, saying “ these people were even ready to pay for their own airline tickets to Ghana, we want to give back to society, yet we are required to pay an accreditation fee of $400 to the Ghana Medical and Dental Council”.

Dr. Buckle said, “ even though the high cost for accreditation in Ghana is questionable, it helps identify qualified physicians and surgeons, but I do not understand why our commitment is further dislodged through a rigid bureaucratic process. This affects our initiative, it derails our desire to help the people of Ghana”.

“With all these impediments, how can we extend our services to communities in Ghana, how can we come and teach students in our medical schools? he quizzed.

Buckle (junior brother of Catholic Archbishop of Accra- Archbishop Palmer-Buckle), said it is unfortunate how the quest to help one’s country is truncated by a botched process, a process inimical to offering free healthcare. In this age of technology “we have been asked to send a delegation to Ghana with the view to streamlining things for us”. Dr.Buckle argued, “this is not a good sign”.

“We have contacted Ghana’s Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, and Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC) to find a lasting solution to these barriers impeding our determination, we even paid for the registrar of GMDC to attend this year’s conference so that we can discuss some of these concerns, but he declined the invitation at a short notice, and sent a representative. “We feel sad about this situation, more so when promises are not fulfilled we get worried”, Buckle lamented.

Dr. Buckle said, “ constantly, we are being frustrated, but we will continue to dialogue with identified players in Ghana’s health care delivery system as our members would still want to volunteer their time teaching and offering free medical care on a yearly basis”.

He cited an example of how a medical college in Ghana agreed to the Foundation’s proposal for academic collaboration, only to reverse its decision, “and asking us not to come to Ghana upon a short notice without providing concrete reasons. “We feel alienated by the actions of some officials in Ghana, things are made difficult for us to give back to our homeland”, Dr. Buckle added.

Dr. Buckle made reference to the foundation’s immediate past president - Dr. James K. Aikins, associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology, and program director, gynecologic oncology fellowship, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, New Jersey, who has been championing international clinical exchange (observational) programs, specialty and sub-specialty in the United States for many years, and questioned why “such an individual with brilliant ideas is presented with obstacles in his country of birth – Ghana, making it impossible for him to help the people”.

“We are unperturbed by these drawbacks, as we position ourselves well in the years ahead to help our country”, Dr. Buckle concludes.

Records made available to “Media Diaspora” show that the Ghana Physicians & Surgeons Foundation is a 600-member organization comprising Ghanaian physicians and surgeons domicile in the United States and Canada. The Foundation’s mentoring program, for instance, is structured to assist medical students, residents, and fellows on specialization, career goals, and job opportunities. Its proposed faculty, clinical, and researchers bank would facilitate among others, volunteerism in rural communities patient care, education, and improved research in Ghana’s medical schools.