{"id":383206,"date":"2017-12-14T13:10:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T13:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=383206"},"modified":"2017-12-14T13:10:06","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T13:10:06","slug":"meningitis-outbreak-shss-need-mobile-clinics-uds-coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/12\/meningitis-outbreak-shss-need-mobile-clinics-uds-coordinator\/","title":{"rendered":"Meningitis outbreak: SHSs need mobile clinics – UDS Coordinator"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Coordinator of Postgraduate Programmes of the Faculty of Education at the University for Development Studies (UDS), has proposed the establishment of mobile clinics in Senior High Schools across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Ibrahim M. Gunu, in a Citi News<\/strong> interview, bemoaned the recent health situation that has so far killed some students and hospitalized several others.<\/span><\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”o5gfEAYhcZrSsE9lWIZMJ1R309AUhtqY”]He emphasized the need for government to tackle the outbreak as a national issue, saying,\u00a0\u201cthe recent happenings in our schools have exposed the deficiencies regarding student health management services, so government should consider this suggestion seriously for the state schools to have resident nurses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt should also be made as a requirement for private schools as part of the accreditation or approval processes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He also underscored the need to create what he described as the\u00a0school nurse system as a means of recruiting some of the graduate unemployed nurses to serve in all public Senior High Schools.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis system would require that a nurse is assigned to a number of schools in a specific location. The nurses using their clinical knowledge and judgment,\u00a0should be able to provide healthcare to students and staff, perform health screenings and t<\/span>ogether with the school counselor provide counselling and education to\u00a0<\/span>staff and students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese nurses should be made to provide daily reports to the specialist in the various district and regional hospitals for immediate action.\u00a0 This kind of inter-agency collaboration would enable various governmental agencies to work together for the good of the students. Strengths of inter-agency working are that there is a wide range of skills, perspectives and knowledge to bring to bear on problems in our schools.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Ibrahim M. Gunu further condemned all attempts to politicize the tragedy that had befallen the schools.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt would also be important for me to appeal to politicians to stop politicizing this issue and attributing the menace to political figures in Ghana. We are a serious nation, so politicians must take the citizenry seriously,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Meningitis scare in SHSs<\/strong><\/p>\n One student at Damongo Senior High School in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region was confirmed to have died from a case\u00a0of Meningitis.<\/p>\n Meningitis was also found to be the cause of the death of a 19-year old student<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0of Bawku Secondary Technical Institute in the Upper East Region, and\u00a0a second-year science student<\/strong><\/span><\/a> at Koforidua Technical School.<\/p>\n In some of the schools, several other students have been hospitalized as a result of the conditions<\/p>\n This comes on the back of the deaths of four students of Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region.<\/p>\n