The Secretary-General of the Ghana Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (GSPT), Mr. Joe Hagan, has called on Ghanaians to encourage TB patients to take the full course of treatment for the disease. This is because the only way the nation can be free from the disease is to help those suffering from it to adhere to instructions for treatment. Mr. Hagan made the call at the inauguration of the Upper Denkyira (Omanhene) Branch of the GSPT, at Dunkwa-On-Offin on Friday. The Omanhene Branch was formed by the GSPT in 2007 to involve traditional rulers in the fight against the disease. According to GSPT, the Central Region where the programme started on a pilot basis has chalked a big success in minimizing the spread of the disease. Mr. Hagan pointed out that the defaulting rate in the treatment of tuberculosis was high because patients undergo treatment lasting six months and said that called for people staying with the patients to monitor and give them the necessary assistance to take the medicine. He pointed out that the greatest challenge facing GSPT was detecting a new case for prompt action to be taken on medication. He expressed regret that some people still regarded TB as a disease caused by evil spirits and preferred going to prayer camps to health facilities. Mr. Hagan called on the traditional authorities, churches and civil society organizations to get involved in the education to erase misconceptions people had about the disease. Nana Ataapim Kweenu VIII, Mankrado of Nkusukum Traditional Area and President of the Central Regional Omanhene branches of GSPT appealed to the Directors of the Ghana Health Service to release grants meant for the support of TB treatment to health facilities promptly. He said it had been established that lack of incentives including payment of transport and travelling expenses for patients to receive treatment at health facilities accounted for the high defaulting rate. Nana Kweenu cautioned against stigmatizing people with the disease and described "stigmatization" as a hindrance to the fight against the disease as patience did not want to go for testing. Owese Kobina Arkoful, Tufuhene of Gomoa Abrekum and Coordinator of GSPT, appealed to the government to improve ventilation at police cells and prisons. He also appealed to Ghanaians to live in well-ventilated rooms. Ms Grace Antwi, a nurse in-charge of the Chest Clinic of Dunkwa Government Hospital called for incentive packages for workers of Chest Clinics and other units where contagious diseases were treated. Nana Tetefrankoma II, Acting President of Denkyira Traditional Council and President of the nine-member Omanhene Branch, pledged to liaise with hospital authorities in the fight against the disease in the area. source: GNA Good communication skills needed to reduce burden on cancer patients Mrs Laura Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Maggie’s Centre, a Cancer Support Centre in Scotland, has called on health practitioners to use good communications skills to lessen the burden of cancer patients in the country. “Good communication is a route to good emotional support. When information is given in a manner the patient understands at his own pace, anxiety created by the disease is reduced," she said. Mrs Lee made the call at the two-day workshop organised by management of AfrOx, a UK-based NGO established to improve delivery of cancer care in Sub Saharan Africa in Accra. She noted that patients formed better partnerships and felt more confident when health practitioners used good communication skills. “When you ask questions and listen to how the patient expresses his feelings, it enhances his well being and provides helpful feedback to the medical practitioner as well,” she added. Mrs Lee said although the impact of bad news could not be softened, practitioners could assist patients to adjust to the message by the manner it was delivered. “Break the news in simple but clear language. Pause and wait for a response from the patient,” she said. Using interactive sessions throughout the training workshop, Mrs Lee told the participants to practice the knowledge acquired to improve health care delivery in the country. Mrs Gladys Boateng, Executive Director of Reach for Recovery Ghana, a Breast Cancer Support Group and Counselling Centre in Accra, said the level of breast cancer awareness in the country was low due to ignorance leading to high cancer mortality. “Some breast cancer patients when informed about the disease, feel it is a death sentence imposed on them but this is not true. “You can survive on early detection,” she said. Mrs Boateng, who has survived breast cancer for the past 10 years, said she was motivated by the medical team that visited her at a hospital in South Africa, where she had her surgery, to establish a centre to provide support to breast cancer patients and survivors. She called on institutions, organisations and religious groups to support the centre. Mr Michael Mordey, Principal Radiotherapist at National Centre for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra, said the workshop was ideal to assist health practitioners, patients and their families to understand better health care delivery and pledged to practise good communications skills at the centre. Mr Samuel Obiri Yeboah, a pharmacist at Radiotherapy Department, KBTH, stressed the need for outreach programmes to sensitise the public on early detection and diagnosis of cancer. He appealed to Government to include cancer patients in the National Health Insurance Scheme. Mrs Juliet Amewu, a nursing officer at Cervical Cancer Screening Unit, Ridge Hospital in Accra, called for continuity of health care delivery at the community level in patients declared terminally ill. “Specialists should be at the communities to care for patients medically declared terminally ill to reduce their pain, suffering and ease the burden at the hospitals,” she said. source: GNA US 'banana gun robber' slips up banana peel Police took photos of the peel after the suspect ate most of the "evidence" A US teenager who was thwarted in an attempt to rob an internet cafe armed with a hidden banana ate the "weapon" before he was arrested, police say. John Szwalla entered the shop with a banana concealed under his T-shirt and demanded money, saying he had a gun. The shop's owner and customers overcame the hapless thief and called for help, but they said the teenager ate his "weapon" before the police arrived. Officers joked they may charge the 17-year-old with destroying evidence. Bobby Ray Mabe, the owner of 109 Biz Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said police officials took pictures of the banana skin instead. "If he had had a gun he would've shot me," Mr Mabe told the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper. "But he had a banana." Mr Szwalla has been charged with attempted armed robbery. Source: GNA