TBS urged to be ethical in their profession

Dr Peter Konadu, a Senior Lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Medical School, has advised Traditional Bone Setters (TBS) to be ethical in their profession and reduce disability and trauma death among care seekers.

He said TBS was a generally accepted form of musculoskeletal injury management in the country that should be guided by ethics and medical rules and regulations to enhance primary fracture care.

This, he said, would help to reduce preventable complications.

Dr Konadu, who is also the Co-Investigator for AO Alliance, said this during a four-day training for TBS in Tamale, organised by the AO Alliance.

He stated that TBS methods for orthodox Orthopaedic management sometimes made treatment complicated and costly, and led to limb amputation, resulting in increased disability cases in the country.

Dr Dominic Konadu-Yeboah, Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, indicated that about 60 per cent of persons who get skeletal injuries visit TBS for local treatment instead of orthodox treatment due to financial challenges, cultural and superstitious beliefs.

Dr Tolgou Yempabe, an Orthopaedic Surgeon, and Head of Trauma at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, urged the TBS to refer trauma cases with complications to health facilities for safe and easy treatment to save lives.

He demonstrated to the trainees how to prevent some of the causes of infection which led to disability and death.

Dr Yempabe encouraged TBS to practice good hygiene and proper sanitation in their treatment facilities to avoid infections and complications.