23rd March 2016 The Tonga Medical and Dental Practice Board have made final amendments to the Medical and Dental Practice Act 2001.
The move has been made to ensure that all local medical practitioners meet the standards expected by law in their profession.
A meeting at the Loumaile Lodge here in Nuku’alofa on March 22 saw medical practitioners review and make the final amendment to the Act.
It was their fourth meeting in their move to ensure that every doctors and medical practitioners in Tonga meet the standards.
The Act covers the registration of Medical Practitioners, Health Officers, Dentists and Dental Therapists. It also deals with Complaints and Disciplinary proceedings.
“It’ll act as a safeguard to Medical Officers, Dentists and Doctors requiring that they must become a registered individual with whatever professions they’re doing,” Mr Tu’akoi ‘Ahio, Principal Health Administrator and Registrar of the Medical Dental Practice Board, said.
The Medical and Dental Practice Act was passed by the Government in 2001. It aims at maintaining professionalism of the staff’s performances and to protect the public from malpractices.
“It has been a long journey from 2001 to today and it has new things and new people in each category and it also has new challenges…so there is a need to review this Act before we implement it to meet the current standards and so on,” Mr Tu’akoi said.
He added that they’re working together with officials from the Crown Law office and the Ministry of Justice to amend parts of the Acts.
Due to many new Pharmacies and students going to Cuba to study, the reviewing of this Act is to ascertain that these Drugstores meets the professionalism of how they should operate in terms of registrations and for Doctors to register.
Mr Tu’akoi said there is no regulation at the moment “and this workshop is trying to develop some regulations to determine whether the Pharmacies are equitable to operate”.
“The regulation includes the qualification of pharmacists to assure that they’re qualified,” he said.
Once the amendment is done by the Board the Act will then be endorsed by the Ministry of Health.
That will then go before Government’s Law Committee before it goes to Cabinet who will then take it to the Legislative Assembly for further discussions and approval.
“What we are trying to achieve today is going through the final draft and the proposed regulations for this Act. That is identifying the Laws that need amendments before drafting it. Once we are done with the final draft it’ll be endorsed for approval,” Mr Tu’akoi added.
The amendments are expected to go to Parliament in June.
The Chairman of the Board is the Acting Chief Executive Officer for Health, Dr Lisiate ‘Ulufonua with representatives from the Crown Law and Justice Office amongst Doctors and Medical Practitioners.
END
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications
