Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria and NMA Disagree Over Court Ruling
The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria ( AMLSN ) has faulted claims by the Nigeria Medical Association ( NMA ) over the recent Court of Appeal rulings over the creation of a department of medical laboratory science in hospitals.
NMA had claimed that the Court of Appeal confirmed that Chief Medical Directors/Medical Directors (CMDs/MDs) are not under any legal obligation to set up the Department of Medical Laboratory Science aside from the Pathology Laboratories departments headed by qualified Pathologists in hospitals in Nigeria.
But the AMLSN faulted this claims describing it as untrue divisive.
In a statement by the Public Relations Secretary of the AMLSN, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi Cajetan, the AMLSN said: “Whereas, the Court of appeal in its judgment of 4/6/2018, ruled that since the court order was not served on the CMD and the DA, the contempt process was defective, the court never averred as claimed by the NMA that CMDs/MDs are not under any legal obligation to set up the Department of Medical Laboratory Science.
“Equally, the Appeal Court neither made reference to the existence of Pathology Laboratory in our hospitals nor their headship by pathologists.
“Obviously, the NMA does not appear to know the difference between the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and a Department of Medical Laboratory Service.”
The AMSLN Spokesman further reiterated that his group is unaware of any law of the Federation and/or extant schemes of service duly approved by the National Council on Establishment (NCE) that subordinates medical laboratory scientists to pathologists “as being dishonestly advocated and unlawfully implied by NMA.”
The AMSLN however, insisted that whenever and wherever Medical Laboratory Scientists are employed to work in the public health sector of the country, they are willing to collaborate with other health professionals (including Doctors/Pathologists) towards an efficient public health delivery to Nigerians.
