The Member of Parliament (MP) for La Dade-Kotopon Constituency, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, on Saturday organised free diabetes and other health related screening for community members at Kowe Abese Abafum electoral area in the La Dade-Kotopon Municipality, as part of activities marking this year’s World Diabetes Day.
Residents were also screened for hypertension, HIV, Blood Pressure, Tuberculosis, Malaria and other medical issues.
The day is to be observed on November 14 with the focus on increasing awareness about the risk factors, symptoms and the types on diabetes.
The exercise was in collaboration with the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Health Directorate and sponsored through the MP’s health fund on the theme “Our health, our wealth.”
In her address, Ms Sowah, said that the exercise was part of her promise to bring periodic health care service to the door step to the constituents and also a way of reducing the burden on their pockets amidst the economic challenges.
The MP said her constituents were really feeling the absence of the La General Hospital and the only way to support the La Polyclinic to deliver health care to everyone in the communities in La and beyond was to organise periodic health screening.
According to the Lawmaker, through her common fund and support from other sources, she had organised health screening in four electoral areas within this year and looking forward to do more before the year ends.
“Through my Common Fund and with support from other sources Opetetin, Mantiase, Lakpanaa and Kowe Abese Abafum have experienced free health screening and will do it at other areas before the year ends,” she said.
She stressed that, all electoral areas under her watch such as Adobeto, Kakramadu, Labone, Wireless and other places would experience periodic health services as a way of making sure members in the community stay healthy.
The MP commended doctors and nurses at the La Polyclinic for the continuous support and prompt responds to her request whenever the need arose to offer medical care to the people in La.
Dr Adwoa Afrieyie Wilson, Municipal Director of Health Services, LaDMA said the health directorate’s focus for the exercise was to screen for non-communicable disease that affected mostly the aged.
Dr Wilson said counselor, Physician Assistant and Pharmacy Consultant were among the medical team present at the exercise to assist community members with pieces of advice, medical prescription and offer medication when needed.
Ms Elizabeth Boye, a beneficiary thanked the MP for thinking about the health of the constituents, especially the aged, widow and children at large at no cost.
Ms Boye urged the lawmaker to conduct the exercise frequently to help them ease their long travel to the clinic for check-ups and also called on the community members to take advantage by participating when the need be.
BY VICTOR A. BUXTON
