HEALTH OUTREACH PROGRAMME FOR GBETSILE (PAGE 11)

Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema

A number of residents of Gbetsile, a deprived farming community in the Tema metropolis have resorted to self-medication due to the non-availability of health care facilities in the area and inability of majority of residents to travel long distances to Tema and Ashaiman to access health care.
A study conducted by a medical team indicated that about 80 per cent of the population, majority of whom are women, do not attend hospitals and have developed hypertension and diabetes, which is unknown to them.
The situation prompted a medical team from Progressive Free Health Service, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), to hold an-eight-day medical outreach for more than 700 people drawn from Gbetsile and other communities, including Kakasunanka 1 & 2 and Ashaiman.
With support from a medical doctor, Dr Adrienne Charles and nurses from the Tema General Hospital and the Narh Bita School of Nursing, the team had the beneficiaries go through laboratory checks for diabetes, malaria and blood pressure.
They were also given counselling on how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS and how to live healthy lives by eating healthy food and cultivating the habit of attending clinics for medical attention.
The week-long exercise, which was co-ordinated by the Optimum Development Impact in Tema, started on April 28, and ended on May 2, 2008.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, Mrs Maryann Darko, a US-based Ghanaian physician, later told the Daily Graphic that before the team decided to come to Ghana, an advanced party was sent to conduct studies in some underprivileged communities which did not have access to medical facilities. She said revelations after the study prompted the team to select Gbetsile and its environs for the outreach programme.
Mrs Darko pointed out that all the people attended to were advised to visit the hospital regularly for routine checks, cut down on the intake of carbohydrates, and eat more green vegetables and fruits.
She said those found to be very sick were referred to a medical doctor immediately.
Mrs Darko said the purpose of the programme was to help the people to cultivate the habit of attending hospital not only when they fell seriously sick but also to go for regular medical check-ups.
She commended the people for their co-operation, understanding and massive turnout.
Mrs Darko gave the assurance that the team would return to the country before the end of the year to assess the impact of the programme.
The Gbetsile Mantse, Nii Kwaku Teye, appealed to the medical team to provide the people with drugs during subsequent outreach programmes to ensure that the people had full benefit of the programme.
He advised the people to take the advice given them, stressing that the programme had opened up avenues for him and his elders to embark on a health educational campaign to create the needed awareness.
The people were given educational materials, including pamphlets on diabetes , hypertension and HIV, to assist them in making informed decisions on health issues confronting them.
The CEO of the Optimum Concept, Ms Phylicia Mortey, said the exercise would be extended to other underprivileged communities in the country.
She explained that the team did not provide medication because the exercise was not meant to set up a clinic but to encourage people to attend hospital.