Clinical staff of Sandema Hospital in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region have undergone refresher training on diabetes mellitus to enable them to optimise the care of diabetic patients in the facility.
The staff were trained under a project intended to create awareness on diabetes and hypertension among patients, clinicians, and members of the public in rural areas in Northern Ghana, with sponsorship from the University of Toronto Student Engagement Award.
Mr Stephen Adombire, one of the Project Coordinators, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during the workshop, said “We want to optimise the care of patients with diabetes, and so there is the need for refresher training regarding our clinical management of such patients.”
He indicated that the workshop was part of a project meant to improve the management of patients with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) with emphasizes on diabetes and hypertension, saying “NCDs including diabetes are a leading cause of death.”
“I hope the workshop would help contribute to the care rendered to patients with diabetes mellitus in this Hospital”, he said.
Mr Adombire said apart from the refresher training for the health professionals, officials of the project had embarked on several radio programmes in the Municipality to sensitize members of the public on NCDs, especially diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
“We have also undertaken laboratory tests, including a lipid profile, liver function, renal function tests and glycated haemoglobin for 20 patients with diabetes and hypertension who needed to have some routine laboratory tests, but could not afford due to financial constraints.”
Mr Adombire, who is also the Acting Nurses and Midwives Manager of the Hospital, entreated members of the public to live healthy lifestyles, such as exercising regularly, minimise or avoid sugar and salt intake, avoid fatty meat and also regularly undergo screening for such conditions.
He said the management of the Hospital had established a Wellness Clinic, “Where we expect members of the public to walk in to check their blood glucose level or blood pressure.
“Members of the public should take advantage of these resources available in the Hospital. These are conditions we refer to as silent killers because you don’t get to know until you are screened.” Mr Adombire said.
Mr Siba Salisu, a Physician’s Assistant (PA) at the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo who addressed staff at the workshop, said new drugs had been introduced into the system to complement the existing drugs for the treatment of diabetes.
He said it was important for health professionals to be accustomed with the new drugs that were used in the management of diabetes which had produced good results in some health facilities, “We have to also adopt same here, so series of workshops were organised for some of us the prescribers.”
Mr Salisu noted that there were several errors identified in insulin administration to diabetic patients, “People are knowledge deficient in the differences in the insulin.
Ms Zenabu Zimi, the In-service Training Coordinator of the Hospital said the facility had over the period recorded several diabetes mellitus cases, some of which were poorly managed owing to knowledge deficiency on the part of some staff.
She said the refresher training had afforded staff of the facility, especially newly posted nurses and midwives, the extra knowledge to better manage diabetic patients.
A nurse at the Emergency Ward of the Hospital, Mr Eric Carl Azaakpali who participated in the workshop, told the GNA that “I acquired new information about diabetes. The workshop was really helpful, and I think it should continue.”
GNA
