Take precautions against cholera - GMA

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has advised the public to take necessary precautions including ensuring proper personal hygiene to avoid being affected by the cholera outbreak.

This was contained in a press statement issued by the GMA at the end of its fourth National Executive Council meeting in Tamale on Saturday.

The statement, which was read by Dr Kwabena Opoku-Adusei, President of the GMA, said the recent cholera outbreak was the worst in the history of the country in terms of the number of people affected and the resultant mortalities, adding that, there was the need for urgent and comprehensive measures to eradicate it.

So far, about 10,000 cases of cholera were recorded across the country resulting in about 100 deaths.

The statement called on government to come out with a detailed comprehensive programme, informing all Ghanaians on how it intends helping to eradicate the cholera outbreak.”

It urged that “The public health units of the various health facilities across the country should be proactive and make it a project to embark on massive health educational campaigns to stem the spread of the cholera epidemic.”

It also spoke about the delayed reimbursement of health insurance claims to various health facilities saying “This has led to the situation where most facility heads are being harassed by their suppliers, which invariably affects quality of healthcare delivery and sometimes leads to out of pocket expenses by patients under the health insurance scheme.”

The statement said ”GMA, therefore, calls on the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to as a matter of urgency take steps to reimburse all facilities they owed to ensure uninterrupted healthcare delivery in the country.”

It said the GMA was not happy about the unsubstantiated medical advertisement in the media and called on the various media houses not to allow their facilities to be used for such purposes, which could create complications for patients sometimes leading to loss of lives.

The statement called on various bodies responsible for regulation of health advertisements including the “Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to be alive to their duties to stem this canker.”

The GMA expressed displeasure at the manner in which the government had handled the Tier two pensions of its members and reminded government that “This inaction, commission or omission on its part is not in the interest of doctors in the public sector and is affecting morale and the general output of the doctors.”

It said “GMA supports the position of organized labour on the Tier two pensions for public sector workers and will participate fully in all activities by organized labour to press home its demand for proper management of the Tier two pensions.”

Meanwhile, the GMA announced that it would hold its 56th Annual General Conference in Takoradi from November 5 to 9, this year, on the theme: “Ten years of Post-Graduate Medical Education in Ghana – Achievements, Challenges and the Way forward.”