The Medical and Dental Council has launched the “Fitness to Practice” document to guide medical and dental practitioners and physician’s assistants on what constitutes physical and mental impairment.

The document, which has been developed by the Council, is also to provide support for impaired practitioners to continue to practice safely.

Impairment refers to a psychological, mental or physical condition, which has adversely affected a practitioner’s competence, attitude, judgement or performance.

A practitioner is said not to be fit to practice, if a physical or mental condition, renders him or her unable to perform his or her required functions for the practice of medicine or dentistry.

It is generally accepted that one to two per cent of medical practitioners would be working under some degree of impairment, secondary to physical or psychiatric disorder.

Therefore, if professional help is not sought, it is often a matter of time before serious problems occur.

In an address read on behalf of the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, by Dr Sylvester Animanah, the Chief Director of the Ministry, he said though most health practitioners lead healthy and productive lives, some of them suffer from substance abuse and depression.

He said: “The stress of medical and dental practice increase susceptibility to some conditions, especially in this part of the world, where doctors work for endless hours as compared to the 56 hours per week in other parts of the world”.

The Health Minister said many common disorders that do affect physicians include temporary stress syndrome, psychiatric disorders, physical illness or injury, alcohol or drug abuse dependence, declining competence due to age-related loss of motor function, impairment with loss of skills, or to the early stages of loss of memory.

“These may progress to levels where signs of lowered productivity, safety, and efficiency issues set in, and this justifies the need for the Fitness to Practice document,” he said.

Mr Segbefia urged the Council to adopt a modern and efficient system of verification, which delivered high quality decision to fulfill the three-fold purpose of Fitness to Practice.

These are protection of the public; declaring and upholding professional standards; and maintaining public confidence in the profession and the regulatory process.

He also advised the other health workforce like the Pharmacy, Nursing, and Midwifery Council, as well as Traditional Medicine Council, to explore the possibility of sharing the concept of developing similar guidelines to achieve greater consistency across health professional regulation.

Dr Eli Kwasi Atipkui, the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, said the guidelines in the Fitness to Practice document was designed to secure in the public interest, the highest standards in the training and practice of medicine and dentistry, as well as to guide and protect the public.

He said the guideline would, therefore, provide support for identifying impaired practitioners to continue their practice safely as per section 27 (e) of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act 2013 (Act 857).

Dr Eric Asamoa, the Chairman of the Council, urged all health facilities and professionals, as well as students who want to practice as health professionals to get copies of the Document to guide them in their professional practices.

Professor Efua Hesse, a member of the Fitness to Practice Committee, who reviewed the guidelines, explained that the document had sections that addressed issues of impairment of health professionals, and that which governed the impairment of students in health institutions.

She said the document also confirmed and detailed the kind of practitioners who were unfit to practice a number of psychological conditions that affected such practitioners’ judgement to practice.

It also detailed conditions that may lead to impairment, and the procedures for dealing with complaints through means like self-reporting, what health professionals should do in case of any impairment, and what employers and the public could also do.

Most health institutions and facilities that attended the launch bought a total of more than 4,000 copies of the document, which is GH¢ 10.00 per copy.