Health education vital for healthy living

Health education is an important part of providing health services to the people and it is vital in patient care, National Capital District health services coordinator Peter Painakali says.
Painakali told The National that giving health education helped people make decisions that would guide their health so they could take ownership of their well-being.
“To live a healthy life is an individual business as the saying goes, but when you start educating a mother at a clinic, you must remember that you are educating the whole family.
“As professionals we have a responsibility to do our duty of care to execute our expertise in these areas as it is important so that our clients or patients are satisfied at the end of the day,” Painakali said.
He said in situations when there were shortages of drugs, health workers must not send patients away but give them health education.
“It is a timely call to health workers in NCD health clinics not to turn away patients in the event that there is no medicine or when facing a shortage of medical supplies.
“In such situations there are other options to be given to patients as intellectuals and as health workers to satisfy their health care needs.”
“As such, consider the non-medical module or concept in all clinical facilities as a way forward in addressing key health care issues affecting their day to day life apart from treatment,” Painakali said.
“Health education and awareness should be continued to be given to patients as part of duty apart from prescription and further advising on referral pathways.”