Level 400 students of the School of Medical Sciences have provided various services to some communities in the Assin Owirenkyiman Traditional Area during the 2018 Community-Based Experience and Service (COBES) Postings.
The students spent three weeks undertaking health outreaches including routine medical screening, health education and data collection at Assin Kushea, Abotareye, Achiano, Ahuntem, Bremang and Denseh. The theme for the 2018 COBES was “Depression: Let’s Talk About it” and was aimed at helping the students understand factors in the communities that impact on health and also give them an opportunity to offer services to the communities.
As part of the programme the students were to determine the profile of depression and the prevalence of hypertension and its effects on end organs.
Speaking during a courtesy call on the leaders of Owirenkyiman Traditional Council at Assin Kushea, the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Prof. Livingstone K. Sam-Amoah, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, thanked the Paramount Chief, Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, and his elders for the warm hospitality they have accorded to the Medical Students for the past three years. He said the University would sustain the fruitful collaboration with Owirenkyiman to promote quality health among the people in the various communities.
Prof. Sam-Amoah said through COBES, the students were able to get hands-on experience that would help them to become professional medical doctors capable of handling complex ailments after graduating from the University. He said UCCSMS was committed to making the education and training of medical students relevant to the needs of the community.
The Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, expressed gratitude to the Traditional Council for releasing land for the construction of COBES site at Assin Kushea. He gave assurance that the University would soon construct permanent structures on the land. He said plans were in place to also bring on board students from other health related programmes like Nursing, Medical Laboratory, Physician Assistants and Optometry. “This is to ensure that you receive the full complement of health care and also help our students to gain experience in community health,” he noted.
The Paramount Chief of Owirenkyiman Traditional Council who was represented by the Kontihene, Nana Mintah Abu V said the COBES programme had been very beneficial and therefore, thanked the University for selecting the traditional area. He said the Traditional Council would continue to partner UCC to sustain the COBES programme to the benefit of the people.
Some of the students who were stationed at Kushea presented medical devices like Drip stand, Anaeroid Sphygmomanometers, weighing scales and thermometers worth GH¢ 1,000 to the Kushea Health Centre.
The officials from UCC later visited the remaining four communities where a dissemination durbar was held for the students to give a report of their findings and also educate the people to live lifestyles that would help them prevent Depression and Hypertension.
At Denseh community, the students through the support of the former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. D. D. Kuupole, Osei Kusi Foundation, and the Member of Parliament for Assin North are constructing a four-seat toilet facility for the community at a cost of GH ¢16, 800. They are also raising funds to construct two more toilet facilities at different places in the community. The toilet facility when completed would provide relief to the people of Denseh who are currently using a deplorable structure as place of convenience for both male and female.
In all the communities, the students donated various items including stationery, computers, megaphones, clothes and other items valued at GH ¢20, 000.