The lack of proper infirmary infrastructure, logistics, and drugs in Akuse Prisons in the Eastern Region are affecting the delivery of quality primary healthcare to inmates.
Enclosed prison populations are most vulnerable to infectious diseases and mental health issues, which links prison healthcare to issues of public health, preventive healthcare, and hygiene.
Ghana’s Prisons Regulation 134 (1) enjoins the Prison Service to ensure that a medical officer shall if necessary attend to the Prison daily and shall see any sick prisoner at least once a day in an infirmary.
However, many prions in Ghana do not have proper infirmaries while others lack basic drugs and logistics to deliver this responsibility efficiently.
ASP Daniel Odotei, the officer in charge of health at Akuse Prisons says, the Akuse Prisons is no exception to these challenges. He said the Prisons has been improvising over the years using a small room as an infirmary to deliver basic healthcare services to sick inmates
According to him, the current condition defeats the capacity of the facility to deliver the best medical care for the prisoners.
“The prison does not have any infirmary to admit inmates who may suffer a mild illness which will require first aid treatment and medication. Also, the current room that is being used as an infirmary is very small to occupy about three people at a time because of that some inmates do not receive proper first aid treatment when they are sick.”
Currently, Akuse Prisons have 9 female and 75 male inmates.
The number is expected to swell by the close of the year when Covid-19 infections in the country reduce drastically.
He, therefore, called on civil societies, philanthropists, and the government to come to their aid.
He made this known when the Eastern regional branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana donated boxes of essential first aid medicines including dewormers and pain relief drugs to the Akuse Prisons.
Additionally, they donated alcohol-based hand sanitizers, bags of rice, quantities of milk, milo, gari, and bags of sachet water, toiletries, skincare medicines, food supplements among others as part of the celebration of World Pharmacists Day observed on September 25 every year.
Eastern Regional Chairman of Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm George Attara Boye, said Prisons healthcare is critical to the reformation strive hence the society found it prudent to support Ghana Prisons Service with drugs and food items to boost healthcare and nutrition of the inmates.
“As part of our annual anniversary that we celebrate on 25th September every year by the pharmaceutical society of Ghana we decided to donate these essential items to Akuse prisons today, we donated to Koforidua prisons a week ago and we decided to extend it to Akuse prisons”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/ Kojo Ansah