Healthcare needs a shift from curative to preventive

Dr Henry Nagai, a Public Health Physician, has said there is the need for health sector to focus on preventative and curative care simultaneously to reduce non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension.

He said such a move could be done with a number of strategies including medical outreach at various religious and social gatherings as well as the screening relatives of patients who visit the hospital for medical care.

“Most of the non-communicable disease does not show major signs. Blood pressure and diabetes have noticed symptoms until it gets to an escalating stage where the individual can get a mild stroke before it is detected,” he said.

Speaking at a symposium Accra on Dr Nagai suggested that various hospitals and public health workers need to collaborate and work together towards reducing death through early detection.

The event, organised by the University of Ghana Medical School Class of 1998, was held under the theme, “Double Burden; of Communicable and Non-Communicable diseases”.

He said one out of two people in the country was prone to have high blood pressure while between one and two persons out of 10 people are likely to have diabetes.

He appealed to traditional, opinion and religious leaders, as well as social event organisers, to include health screening in their activates to keep their people healthy.

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, former Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), reiterated the need for regular physical exercises in order to keep the body healthy.

He said non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes were steadily causing more deaths as a result of lack of regular exercises by many people.

Prof Akosa described the situation as alarming and stressed the need for Ghanaians to change their attitude and use part of their leisure to engage in exercises.

Questioning why leaders and management of the country continue to seek medical healthcare outside the country, he said, the trend showed the country had many problems in the health sector.

The Former Director of GHS said the country’s health sector is riddled with many challenges from inadequate personnel, tools, equipment, resources and drugs.

Due to the many challenges in the health sector, patients now resort to visiting prayer camps when they are sick and only visit the hospital when the situations got worse, Prof Akosa said.