Breast Care International initiates program to support cancer patients

Breast Care International (BCI) Ghana is spearheading an initiative to improve the high percentage of breast cancer patients defaulting treatment at the hospitals.

The ‘Peer-Nurse Navigation Program’ uses a combination of cancer survivors and oncology nurses to guide newly diagnosed patients to achieve quality health outcomes.

President of BCI-Ghana, Dr. Beatrice Waife Addai tells Luv News the project is based on what she terms as the principle of HOPE – Helping Others through Personal Experiences (HOPE).

“We realized that there is a very big gap between what happens to a patient when he or she is diagnosed with cancer and what happens in the hospital; so what we are getting is a lot of people defaulting treatment because the person is diagnosed in the hospital, he or she goes home and there is no follow up”, she observed.

A training session for voluntary nurses and breast cancer survivors is underway at the Peace and Love Hospital in Kumasi. Participants are being equipped with appropriate skills to assist newly diagnosed cancer patients to access support and resource to cope with their disease.

Breast cancer is the leading malignancy among women with about 60 percent reporting late. This leads to physical, psychological, socio-cultural and financial challenges in the diagnosis and treatment process.

Dr. Wiafe Addai says the success of the Ashanti regional pilot will inform an African-wide roll-out of the project.

“It’s not needed in Ghana but the whole of Africa because we don’t have such support systems anywhere”, she stated. “When you go to the developed world, they have support systems [but] we don’t have that in our country and we believe that is the reason why about 70 percent of our women are running away from the hospital because of mastectomy”.

The program is in collaboration with Carrie’s TOUCH, a US-based non-profit organization.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh

Patients worried over continued closure of hospital pharmacies

The worries of patients in government hospitals are far from over, as they go through difficulty accessing drugs.

The situation has been created by the continued strike by pharmacists, weeks after doctors returned from a similar action.

Healthcare seekers were denied total medical care when the two professional bodies laid down their tools over single spine issues.

With the return of the doctors the problem is only half solved because patients take prescriptions and look for the drugs elsewhere.

The Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) has been on strike for several weeks demanding implementation of a ruling by the National Labour Commission (NLC) on their conversion difference and grading structure.

A visit to the Komfo Anokye Hospital in Kumasi reveals the pharmacies at both the main section and the polyclinic remain closed to the public.

Though many patients are registered for health insurance, they have had to buy at high prices, and pay up-front from private pharmacies.

Some patients who spoke to Luv News indicate besides the high prices, they have to walk long distances from shop to shop to get drugs to buy.

They are calling on government to resolve the impasse with the striking pharmacists to enable return to work.

Meanwhile, private pharmacists in the metropolis say they have recorded an increase in sales in recent times as their colleagues in public facilities stay out of work.

Some pharmacy shop owners explained patronage of their services has shot up as high number of patients with prescriptions seek alternative source for medication.

The private pharmacists have also joined in calls for speedy resolution of the impasse in the interest of patients.

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission will be in court on Wednesday June 12, 2013 seeking a stay of execution of the NLC ruling.

A spokesperson for the GHOSPA, Courage Danku, told Luv News the Association is also cooperating with a cabinet sub-committee looking into their grievances.

Kokofu health training school decries poor state of infrastructure

The Health Assistant Training School at Kokofu in the Bekwai Municipality of Ashanti region has decried its poor state of infrastructure, which authorities say impedes efforts at providing quality nursing education.

Principal, Madam Hagar Agyir–Binn, says the school has plans to add up Geriatric Nursing program that caters for the needs of the aged, but this program cannot take off, due to lack of infrastructure.

She spoke to Luv News at the School’s 6th Matriculation and 5th Anniversary event under the theme: “Announcing Our Existence”.

One hundred and twenty students, comprising 88 females and 32 males, were matriculated.

According to Madam Agyir-Binn, the school has seen very little improvement in infrastructure in its five years of existence.

“The road leading from Kokofu town to the school has been worst as the years pass by, in raining seasons, it gets flooded and the flood habours pythons which make it dangerous to access the road to the school. Sometimes some staff have to be carried at the back of some village folks in order to cross the flood to work”, she lamented.

She has appealed to the Ministry of Health to make good a promise to construct model classroom and administration block to address the challenges of inadequate classrooms, lack of administrative block, accommodation for tutors, ICT facility and lack of demonstration room. 

 

A lecturer at the School, Mrs. Comfort Asare explained that students and staff have had to make sacrifices to excel academically, especially when practical demonstrations have to be held in open air.

“Imagine teaching students or demonstrating things in the open air under a very hot sun for two to four hours; it’s very important in nursing that we teach our students through the demonstration method, especially the basic nursing aspect, but we don’t have demonstration room, it’s not there!” she complained.

The Principal however stated that in the face of all the challenges, Kokofu HATS performs creditably in the licensure exams.

“After the poor performance in our first licensure examination that was 11% pass, the School has constantly been performing very well in the subsequent licensure examinations: 2010 – 91.4%, 2011 – 76.6% and 2012 – 75.5% pass in the second, third and fourth batches respectively. This year we were the fourth best school in the licensure examination in the whole country”, Madam Agyir-Binn disclosed.

The Chief Nursing Officer of the Ghana Health Service, George Kumi Kyeremeh, commended the School authority for its innovations to raise standards in the School.

“My office will continue to collaborate with all the key stakeholders and represent your interest at the highest level”, he assured.

Mr. Kyeremeh observed that health professionals would not be able to complete the healing process if their acquired knowledge and skills and not backed with compassion for patients.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh