[ 2014-09-29 ]

Take precautions against cholera - GMA
Tamale, Sep 28, GNA – The Ghana Medical
Association (GMA) has advised the public to take
necessary precautions including ensuring proper
personal hygiene to avoid being affected by the
cholera outbreak.

This was contained in a press statement issued by
the GMA at the end of its fourth National
Executive Council meeting in Tamale on Saturday.

The statement, which was read by Dr Kwabena
Opoku-Adusei, President of the GMA, said the
recent cholera outbreak was the worst in the
history of the country in terms of the number of
people affected and the resultant mortalities,
adding that, there was the need for urgent and
comprehensive measures to eradicate it.

So far, about 10,000 cases of cholera were
recorded across the country resulting in about 100
deaths.

The statement called on government to come out
with a detailed comprehensive programme, informing
all Ghanaians on how it intends helping to
eradicate the cholera outbreak.”

It urged that “The public health units of the
various health facilities across the country
should be proactive and make it a project to
embark on massive health educational campaigns to
stem the spread of the cholera epidemic.”

It also spoke about the delayed reimbursement of
health insurance claims to various health
facilities saying “This has led to the situation
where most facility heads are being harassed by
their suppliers, which invariably affects quality
of healthcare delivery and sometimes leads to out
of pocket expenses by patients under the health
insurance scheme.”

The statement said ”GMA, therefore, calls on the
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to as a
matter of urgency take steps to reimburse all
facilities they owed to ensure uninterrupted
healthcare delivery in the country.”

It said the GMA was not happy about the
unsubstantiated medical advertisement in the media
and called on the various media houses not to
allow their facilities to be used for such
purposes, which could create complications for
patients sometimes leading to loss of lives.

The statement called on various bodies responsible
for regulation of health advertisements including
the “Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana
Medical and Dental Council to be alive to their
duties to stem this canker.”

The GMA expressed displeasure at the manner in
which the government had handled the Tier two
pensions of its members and reminded government
that “This inaction, commission or omission on
its part is not in the interest of doctors in the
public sector and is affecting morale and the
general output of the doctors.”

It said “GMA supports the position of organized
labour on the Tier two pensions for public sector
workers and will participate fully in all
activities by organized labour to press home its
demand for proper management of the Tier two
pensions.”

Meanwhile, the GMA announced that it would hold
its 56th Annual General Conference in Takoradi
from November 5 to 9, this year, on the theme:
“Ten years of Post-Graduate Medical Education in
Ghana – Achievements, Challenges and the Way
forward.”

Source - GNA

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