Provide sick bays with qualified health staff at all SHS - Kwabena Frimpong appeals

The General Secretary for Kumasi Youth Association (KuYA) Mr Kwabena Frimpong has called on the Government through the Ghana Education Service (GES) to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to help establish functional sick bays with qualified health professionals to manage, in all Senior High Schools across the country.

He made the call on Boss FM's Friday edition of 'Good Morning Boss' program hosted by the legendary Wofa Kofi Appiah when he was asked as a health professional to comment on the Covid-19 cases being recorded as schools reopened for final year students and with the sorrowfully passing away of a student at KNUST SHS in Kumasi.

In response to the death of the student, Mr Frimpong said, "Wofa, l know some SHS have sick bays and others may not also have, so government, GES and GHS should make sure all Senior High Schools have sick bays to manage some of these minor ailments and refer serious conditions to nearby hospitals for further treatment. In relation to the KNUST SHS boy's death, If the School had a functional sickbay with qualified health staff at the post, the boy's life could have been saved.

Additionally, vociferous Kwabena recommended that "GES should collaborate with the various District, Municipal and Metropolitan Health Directorate to release health staffs to these schools to manage their Sick bays". This and many other measures if put in place will help deal with the SHS campus health matters.

He opined that since most students are in fear of contracting the disease due to the numerous reports or confirmed cases, there is the strong need for government to swiftly assign psychologists or Mental health professionals to manage the stigma and psychosocial challenges among the students. This would help allay the fears in the students and enable them to cope or live a normal life. The fears and stigma may also be cancerous to their cognitive reasoning if not attended to on time and may affect the academic performance, expected of them in the forthcoming examination.