Health professionals at the Upper East Regional Hospital screened 264 people for diabetes Thursday during a free exercise marking World Diabetes Day, detecting both new cases and troubling medication compliance issues among existing patients.
Dr. Emmanuel Anafo, a physician specialist who led the screening team at the hospital’s forecourt, said many patients with known diabetes had stopped following their treatment plans.
“Quite a number of the old people or people who already had diabetes were either not taking their medications as they should, some were resorting to herbal medications and other alternative drugs or management,” Anafo said in an interview after the Nov. 14 event.
The screening also identified several hypertensive cases alongside diabetes detection, Anafo said, though he had not yet reviewed detailed results to provide specific numbers of new diagnoses.
Several known hypertension patients who participated had also discontinued their medications, he said.
Anafo urged anyone with undiagnosed hypertension or diabetes to visit the nearest hospital and emphasized the importance of medication adherence.
“They should comply with their medications as directed by their physicians and also to follow their dietician advice in terms of taking their diet and also involve in physical activity,” he said.
The World Diabetes Day screening attracted both new participants and existing patients seeking check-ups.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga
