Sekondi, Feb. 6, GNA - Miss Barbara Yankey, Western Regional Drug Information Pharmacist, has advised the sick not to purchase medicine without the requisite information.

She noted that while self-medication compounded sicknesses many people allowed others including their relations to take such un-prescribed drugs.

Ms. Yankey speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sekondi on Monday, said since it was difficult for people to detect fake drugs they had to seek professional advice. The Drug and Information Centre at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, was opened in 2004 to provide information on available drugs, re-actions to drug use, products and their identification among other things. She expressed worry about the attitude of some Ghanaians who purchased drugs for themselves and their relations without the requisite information and advise.

Ms. Yankey spoke against drug advertisement that did not give the chemical component and other valuable information about their use and possible side effects.

She said the Centre had been organising outreach programmes for the public to have adequate information on drugs including their uses and efficacy.

Ms. Yankey said enquiries at the Centre on how drugs were used or therapeutics took 30 percent of its operation, while Pharmacology recorded 24 percent, Pregnancy and Lactation 23 percent and general health information 33 percent.

She said information required from the Centre was usually provided within one to 15 minutes while the longest duration was 120 minutes. Ms. Yankey stated that the Centre was to provide accurate information as promptly as possible and said it was conducting a survey on drug treatment with special emphasis on malaria among children less than five years for various stakeholders in the health sector.

Ms. Yankey noted that even though District Drug Information Centres were expected to be established lack of telephone and Internet services and the acute staffing situation was hindering the programme. She said in spite of this; Juabeso, Tarkwa, Axim and Dixcove hospitals were accessing drug information from the Centre and stated that information from all National Drug Information Centres was free and urged the people to patronise them.