Kwame-Danso (BE/R)-Ghana, Aug. 14, GNA – Residents of Kwame-Danso and adjoining communities in the Sene West District of the Bono East Region have benefited from health outreach exercises, undergoing free screening for hernia, related lumps and surgeries.
Mr Joseph Kumah Mackay, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Aspirant for the Sene West Constituency, sponsored the two-week health outreach exercise, which benefited more than 300 residents, comprising children, the aged and some young adults.
Dr Samuel Kwadwo Togbe, a Surgeon and Family Medicine Anaesthetic Specialist, Techimantia Government Hospital in the Tano South Municipality of the Ahafo Region, led a team of surgeons to conduct the exercise.
Some of the beneficiaries underwent surgery for hernia, lumps and other related health complications while others were provided with medication to aid their healing processes.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Kwame-Danso, Dr Togbe said because they were mostly farmers, many of the men had hernia with serious complications.
“This is because they exert a lot of pressure in their farm work and don’t report cases early for medication and treatment,” he said, and advised people who had unusual and chronic coughs to visit health facilities for examination.
Dr Togbe condemned what he described as unacceptable use of herbs by some of the patients, noting that when they experienced complications, many of the men applied herbal medicine to contain the pains, instead of visiting health facilities for medical attention.
“You only see some of the patients at health facilities only when they realise they can’t contain the pains anymore.”
Mr Mackay, also the Chief Executive Officer of the Middle Belt Development Authority, told the GNA that: “Sometimes I don’t blame them because many of the patients can’t afford hospital bills as they live on their meagre incomes”.
He, therefore, funded the free-health outreach/screening exercise to relieve the beneficiaries of their financial burdens and promised that it would be held periodically.