Vodafone Ghana Foundation has announced the first anniversary of its HealthLine 255, a medical call centre, which allows Ghanaians to call doctors and nurses for expert advice on health issues.
Healthline 255, which is an extension of the telecom operator’s multiple award-winning television programme, Healthline, has provided advice to over 80, 000 Ghanaians since it was launched. It has also dispelled the many myths surrounding health, educated Ghanaians against self-medication and encouraged early diagnosis and treatment among others.
During the past year, 47 percent of the calls to the centre have been from people aged 25 to 44 years, whilst 35 percent of the calls were from people aged 15 to 24 years. The majority of the calls received were from the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Greater Accra and Western regions representing over 65 percent of the calls. The various medical complaints handled by the centre include sexual health related cases, headache, abdominal pains, back pains and depression.
Commenting on the success chalked, the Foundation and Sustainability Manager for the Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Afriyie Ofori-Koree, said: “We have had several instances of Healthline255 saving people’s lives in life threatening situations. An example is a timely advice that helped a lady who had been bleeding excessively due to an unsafe abortion.
“Also, an imminent heart attack on a 46-year-old woman was averted as a result of the timely advice by the service.”
She explained that in the wake of the recent outbreak of Ebola and Cholera, Healthline255 has been playing a pivotal role in educating and allaying the fears of the public on both conditions.
“This has been further enhanced by making the service accessible to subscribers of other networks through the number 050 5050500. Vodafone customers however continue to access service via the short code 255 daily from 4pm to 10pm.”
Over the past year, Healthline255 has delivered on its promise and has indeed played a major role in quality healthcare delivery in Ghana by offering expert medical advice and information.
“Quality healthcare advice has certainly become just a phone call away to all Ghanaians irrespective of their socio-economic background,” Afriyie said.
Source: Vodafone Ghana