In recent years, there have been many cases of clinical negligence, medical malpractices, and various grievances against healthcare professionals in Ghana.

The KNUST Faculty of Law has therefore begun legal training for health professionals in the country.

The programme is dubbed: “the On-Site medical Ethics Workshop for Hospitals and clinics project”.

It is meant to provide legal training to healthcare professionals in Kumasi and other communities in Ghana.

According to the dean of the faculty, Dr. Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, the project will be crucial in the reduction of the high number of reported medical malpractice and negligence cases.

 “As a faculty of law in a Science and Technology University, we deem it an obligation to partner health institutions and health professionals in building the necessary awareness on ethical boundaries as well as the legal obligations entrusted upon health care professionals and health institutions.

“So that, when healthcare professionals are dealing with patients in various medical settings, they will be very mindful of the onerous obligations which the law as well as the ethics of their profession impose upon them,” he said.

The faculty therefore selected the University Health Services as the maiden beneficiary.

The training was under the topic: "Legal duties and responsibilities of healthcare professionals to their parents."

Dr. Owusu-Dapaa noted that the faculty will be replicating the workshop in other healthcare institutions in the country.

“The objective is to build partnerships with many hospitals around, so that this workshop will be replicated on a regular basis,” he said.

Dean of the school of medicine and dentistry, Prof. Daniel Ansong observed many medical students are oblivious of the legal implications of their actions.

He said his outfit will incorporate it in the curriculum to strengthen the medical law course.

“Most of the time during the transition period, our students have very little knowledge of their responsibilities and legal implications of their actions.

“We will pay attention to what you’ve started and invite you into the medical school system,” he assured.

Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Prof. Christian Agyare commended the law faculty for the initiative.

He was optimistic that the beneficiaries will share the knowledge acquired with other members of the university community.

“We’re not having all the staff here. Whatever we’re going to learn here, we’ll pass on the information to other colleagues,” he said.