By Godfred A. Polkuu
Bolgatanga, April 27, GNA – The Upper East Regional chapter of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) has screened 132 residents in Bolgatanga for various medical conditions.
Out of the total number, 60 were female adults and 47 were male adults with 25 children.
Members of the GCNM, made of specialist nurses of various categories, with some clad in branded T-shirts of the GCNM’s 10th Anniversary, screened residents for breast and cervical cancers, malaria and treated some of minor ailments.
They also checked Random Blood Sugar (RBS) levels, Blood Pressure (BP), pulse, weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), assessed body temperatures of children, and educated participants on basic health conditions and how to live healthy lifestyles.
The team also measured the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) of children to assess their nutritional status, and dispensed medicines including paracetamol, multivitamin syrups, and vitamin ‘C’ tablets among others to those who needed them.
Mr William Sebil, the Regional Representative of the GCNM and a Fellow of the College, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during the screening, said the exercise was part of activities to mark the College’s 10th Anniversary celebration.
He said the idea to screen members of the public as part of the Anniversary celebration, was initiated by the Advisory Board, the Rector, and President of the College to give back to society.
“If we have gone there to study and improved on our skills, it is appropriate that we give back to society,” Mr Sebil, who is also the Principal of the Nursing Training College in Bolgatanga, said.
He said there was the need for nurses to graduate from general nursing practice to speciality areas to acquire detailed information and skills to improve on the quality of nursing care and practice.
The GCNM Regional Representative, called on stakeholders to support the College to grow and churn out more professionals for health facilities in the country, “If the College grows, Ghanaians will benefit. We will have well prepared professionals to give care to patients,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to members of the Advisory Board of the College, the Rector, staff, and stakeholders for the support to organise the screening exercise and urged young nurses and midwives to engage members of the College to know more about the courses offered and enrol.
He noted that Specialist nurses and midwives were exposed to several opportunities in the profession, stressing that “Do not wait to be sponsored, sponsor yourself and when you complete successfully, the opportunities are available.”
Mr Denis Ayamga, the Regional Chairman of the Nurses and Midwives Specialist Society of Ghana, noted that 22 participants were found to have high BP levels and referred to health facilities for monitoring, while one person was also referred for glucose monitoring.
He advised members of the public to take issues of health seriously, “People should try to undergo regular medical check-ups, especially for BP and blood sugar test, else they may be moving about with high values which could one day put them down and nothing can be done to save them.”
Some beneficiaries of the screening exercise, especially the aged, expressed gratitude to the team in an interview with the GNA, and appealed to the GCNM to regularly bring such exercises to their doorsteps.
GNA