Cape Coast, Sept. 4 – The Telecel Ghana Foundation has taken its Healthfest medical screening exercise to indigenes and residents of Cape Coast as part of activities marking this year’s Oguaa Fetu Afahye, providing free health checks, medication and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) services to community members.
The exercise, held in Cape Coast, formed part of the Foundation’s nationwide health outreach programme aimed at bringing healthcare services closer to underserved communities.
The Media Manager for Foundation and External Affairs at Telecel Ghana Foundation, Karen Ahima Bossman-Adotevi, said the Central Region was selected because of the large number of people who gather in Cape Coast for the annual Fetu Afahye.
“We take healthcare to deprived communities, we bring it to the people, to our customers, and we chose the Central Region at this point because of Afahye. Obviously, there are lots of people; it’s like an annual celebration in these parts of town,” she said.
She said the Foundation expected to screen at least 300 people at the healthfest.
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Participants received free checks for blood pressure and blood sugar levels, while others benefited from free NHIS registration and renewal.
Ms Bossman-Adotevi said the initiative was intended to ensure that people did not neglect their health while participating in the festivities.
“There’s no point being in a festive mood if your health is not in a good place,” she said.
She said the exercise also provided an opportunity for health conditions to be detected early, with people requiring further medical attention referred to hospitals, while those who could be treated at the screening centre were provided with medication.
Ms Bossman-Adotevi said the Healthfest formed part of a broader commitment by the Telecel Ghana Foundation to improving access to healthcare.
Annual Homecoming Initiative
She said the Foundation also undertook its annual Homecoming initiative, through which it supports patients who are unable to settle their hospital bills, as well as a rural ultrasound programme that provides ultrasound services to expectant mothers in deprived communities.
“We have our annual Homecoming where we go to the hospitals, we pay the bills of people and take them out, insolvent patients, and then take them out of the hospital,” she said.
She added that the Foundation had been implementing the Healthfest programme for more than three years and intended to continue expanding it across the country.
“We’ve been doing this for more than three years now and we’ve been going all over the country, and so, yes, we continue this until the whole of Ghana is touched,” she said.
Ms Bossman-Adotevi also urged the public to adopt basic preventive health practices, including regular handwashing, consuming properly prepared food and drinking clean or boiled water.
“Let’s take care of ourselves. The little things that the doctors tell us to do, let’s do it. Wash your hands, very basic, eat warm, hot food or heat your food before you eat it, drink clean water, boil your water,” she said.
Hypertension concerns
A medical officer from the Elmina Government Hospital, Dr Eric Acquah, said preliminary findings from the screening showed a high incidence of elevated blood pressure, particularly among women and people aged above 40.
He said some of those identified with high blood pressure were already aware of their condition but had stopped taking their medication, while others were unaware that their blood pressure was high.
“Most of the cases we found during the screening, most of them were women, older people above 40 years. We found most of them were hypertensive. Most of them knew they had stopped taking the medication; others too, they didn’t know, and then they came and we found out their BPs were high,” he said.
Dr Acquah explained that hypertension was not ordinarily diagnosed based on a single blood pressure reading, but required a series of investigations to establish a patient’s blood pressure profile.
He said some of the readings recorded during the exercise were concerning.
“Some of the figures are very scary. So, in cases like that, we give them the start medication, then we encourage them to visit the nearest clinic or they do the profile and then they return to the hospital,” he said.
He cautioned that persistently high blood pressure could damage vital organs, including the brain, heart and kidneys, potentially resulting in serious complications.
“Those high figures are very dangerous because when they go high like that, they affect the vital organs, the brain. If it’s affecting the brain, you are getting stroke; if it’s affecting the heart, you are getting heart attack,” he said.
He added that early intervention was important because treating complications such as kidney failure could impose a significant financial burden on patients.
“Healthcare is expensive, but it’s only expensive when things get bad. During the preventive stages, if you’re able to go by the protocol, follow the education, it won’t get to a stage where it becomes expensive for you,” Dr Acquah said.
The Healthfest screening was part of the Foundation’s community outreach activities during the Oguaa Fetu Afahye, aimed at supporting healthier communities and improving access to basic healthcare services
Source: Anthony Sasu Ayisadu/ATLFMNEWS
