Pharmacists provide medical care at Essienimpong
As part of their annual general meeting, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana has provided free medical screening and treatment for more than 500 residents of Essienimpong in the Ejisu-Juabeng municipality, a predominantly farming community.
Besides the free medical screening, the pharmacists also educated members of the community on responsible use of medicine and provided free drugs estimated at GH¢40,000 for the treatment of various ailments afflicting them.
Among the drugs provided for the exercise were assorted painkillers, antibiotics and blood tonics
About 300 medical professionals, including pharmacists, doctors and nurses, participated in the medical screening which lasted for about seven hours.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the exercise, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Mr Seth Osei Afriyie, expressed concern about the misuse of drugs in the treatment of various ailments in the country.
He said the irresponsible use of drugs undermined quality healthcare delivery, hence their desire to educate the public and offer free medical screening and treatment to deprived communities during their annual general meetings.
“During our annual general meetings, we make it a duty not only to offer free medical screening and treatment to deprived communities, but also educate the public about the wrong use of drugs and other health related issues,” he explained.
Mr Afriyie said lifestyle diseases such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension, were increasing at an alarming rate in the country, and becoming major causes of deaths.
He said many of those afflicted with such diseases were not aware of their predicaments, hence the need for pharmacists to undertake annual health education outreach programmes and consciously engage the public on the nature of such diseases.
He said some members of deprived communities were also too poor to attend hospitals so such programmes enabled such people to receive free medication to improve their health conditions.
Mr Afriyie urged the public to join hands with pharmacists in their outreach programmes to enable the needy in society to appreciate the need to lead healthy lifestyles.
He also expressed concern about the peddling of drugs in vehicles and rural communities, saying, besides prescribing wrong dosages, those who peddled such drugs also sold expired drugs to the public.
“Because drug peddlers do not know the state of drugs they peddle, they sometimes sell expired medicine to the public and give wrong dosages and eventually put the lives of their clients at great risk,” he noted.
“Drugs are potential poisons if not used properly, hence the need for the public to join us to educate society to refrain from buying drugs from peddlers,” he noted.
“ The time has come for Ghanaians to use drugs responsibly because the misuse of drugs can affect the health of those who use them. The misuse of drugs can also affect our health, making it more expensive to treat and eventually create problems for the nation,” he advised.
By George Ernest Asare/Daily Graphic/Ghana
