By Caleb Kuleke
Ho, Oct. 14, GNA – Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor, University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has emphasised the need for the country’s healthcare system to be optimised to treat older people’s unique needs.
She said: “The healthcare systems in the country should be optimised to treat older people’s unique needs and provide an age-friendly environment to enable them to live comfortably and happily.”
She said the increasing number of elderly persons in the country has not had a corresponding increase in social and healthcare support systems for the aged.
Prof. Aziato was speaking at the 10th-anniversary celebration of the retired nurses, midwives and physician assistants Club-Ho in the Volta Region.
She lamented the multiple barriers faced by the elderly to care including high cost, lack of access to medicines and transportation to clinics, age discrimination and scarcity of health care providers.
The VC said the physical and socioeconomic environment of a country could directly affect the health of the elderly after retirement, underscoring the need for recreational centres for the elderly.
She said the role of the elderly today could not be underestimated as they were not just repositories of knowledge and cultural values but also had experiences that would mould the younger generation into responsible citizens.
Mr. Siegfried Kwasi Sakyi, Chairman of the Club in his welcome address disclosed that the Club started with 19 members in Ho and now extended to Keta, Adidome, Mafi-Kumas and currently has 190 active members.
The Club was inaugurated on June 9, 2015, and aimed to bring all retired caregivers under a unified body, foster love, unity, and fraternal spirit among members, improve members’ interpersonal relationships and assist members in genuine financial difficulties.
It also aimed to cooperate and collaborate with other bodies to advance the practice of nursing, midwifery and medical care in Ghana and abroad, and organise annual and or bi-annual get-together parties and visit places of interest to develop the cultural, moral and spiritual well-being of members.
GNA