The Chief Executive of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, has called for stringent enforcement of institutional policies to account and care for health professionals who are at higher risk of opioid medications misuse and abuse.
He said the daily experiences of health workers in the use of opioids for pain management had not only brought to the fore, but the critical role also they play in alleviating unbearable suffering among patients.
Health workers must be familiar with other distinct challenges such as clinical access issues, regulatory pressure and the "disturbing rise in the incidence of their misuse and abuse, even among healthcare professionals," that came with them.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day workshop on rational use of drugs for the staff of the hospital in Kumasi, Prof Addai-Mensah, said with greater access to the medications, healthcare providers are at higher risk of misuse due to the stress-prone nature of their professions and easier access to controlled substances.