By Laudia Sawer, GNA
Tema, Dec. 21, GNA – Dr Michael Tetteh, the Head of the Herbal Unit of the Tema General Hospital, has disclosed the existence of 70 herbal units in public hospitals across the country providing health services through herbs to clients.
Nine health facilities in the Greater Accra Region, including the Tema General Hospital, have units providing such services, with the staff taking care of patients just like any other doctor, he said.
The inclusion of herbal medicine in public hospitals was in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target to meet the health needs of all.
Dr Tetteh said this on the weekly programme; “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility!” a Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative, which promotes health-related communication to improve health literacy.
He said the WHO realised the difficulty in meeting its target due to people often relying on herbal medicines and only visited the hospital when those medicines failed to work to expectation.
It, therefore, resolved to integrate it into the mainstream health system to complement efforts.
In Ghana, Dr Tetteh said the government also saw the need for policies to support herbal medication as well as regulate the sector, as it was evident that “quack doctors” were taking advantage of the system to sell unauthorised substances to the public.
“So now, with these 70 herbal units, you can go to the hospital and opt for the approved herbal services,” he stated, adding that the units were run by well-qualified medics, who used the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)-certified herbal medications for the treatment.
He gave the assurance that apart from emergency and surgical care, the herbal units had medications for the treatment of internal medical issues, gynaecology and neurology – related issues, infections, hypertension, and diabetes among other diseases.
He advised herbal medicine lovers not to experiment with unregulated medications but visit their facilities to get proper care for all their illnesses.
GNA