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Mr Aboagye Amponsah, a nurse at the Valley View Hospital Techiman, screening the the beneficiaries of the  exercise
Mr Aboagye Amponsah, a nurse at the Valley View Hospital Techiman, screening the the beneficiaries of the exercise

Three communities in Asunafo South get free health screening

About 2,000 residents of three communities in the Asunafo South District in the Brong Ahafo Region have benefited from a three-day free health screening exercise organised by the Assembly Member for Kukuom Abromamu, Engineer Kobby Amoa-Mensah.

The beneficiary communities were Kukuom, the district capital, Kwapong, Sankore and its surrounding communities.

The beneficiaries were screened for various diseases such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, blood pressure, malaria, blood sugar levels, among others, and offered free medicine, where necessary.

Residents of the three communities are predominantly subsistence farmers who grow crops such as cocoa, vegetables, plantain, among others.

An 18-member medical team, made up of doctors, nurses, biomedical scientists drawn from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Hospital, the Graphic Communications Group Limited Clinic and the Korle Bu and the Komfo Anoakye Teaching hospitals, provided services during the exercise.

It was on the theme: “A district capital without a medical doctor: the Asunafo South story".

Kukuom Health Centre

The Kukuom Health Centre, established in 1968, is the only major health facility that provides health care for residents of the three major communities and their environs.

However, the centre has been facing a number of challenges, making it difficult for its staff to handle some cases reported at the place.

Since there is no resident medical doctor in the district, serious cases have to be referred to the Goaso or the Hwidiem Hospital in the Asunafo North and the Asutifi South districts, respectively.

Meanwhile, an ambulance which was donated by a former Member of Parliament for Asunafo South, Mr George Boakye, to the facility has broken down and as such referred patients have to be conveyed in taxis to the Goaso or the Hwidiem Hospital.

Diagnoses

The Leader of the medical team, Dr Ayisi-Boateng, said adults were diagnosed with common diseases such as diabetes and musculoskeletal problems, while children were found to be suffering from malaria and anaemia.

He advised the residents to regularly visit hospital for check-ups,- for the early detection of diseases for treatment.

The Physician Assistant in charge of the Kukuom Health Centre, Madam Florence Owusu Pepra, said since April last year, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) had not reimbursed the facility for its services and that was posing a challenge to its operations.

She said the facility would soon be upgraded to a hospital and, therefore, appealed to the government, NGOs and individuals to help provide it with office and staff accommodation.

Assembly member

For his part, Ing Amoa-Mensah said the programme was organised to create awareness of health issues and draw the attention of the residents to the need to live healthy lives.

He said it also provided an opportunity to draw the attention of the authorities to the fact that the Asunafo South District had no hospital and a resident medical doctor to provide quality health care for the people.

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