A medical team from the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) has conducted a two-day tuberculosis (TB) contact tracing, screening, immunisation, and mental health outreach at the Tamale Central Prison as part of efforts to improve healthcare among inmates and prison officers.

The six-member team, led by Mrs. Felicia Vuu, screened a total of 210 people, comprising 126 prison officers and Prison Officers' Association (POA) members, as well as 84 inmates.

Beneficiaries received TB immunisation, counselling, and education on the disease, while sputum samples were collected from individuals suspected of having tuberculosis for further laboratory testing.

Those identified as being at risk of developing TB were also placed on Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy (TPT) to reduce their chances of contracting the disease.

The outreach also featured mental health education sessions for both inmates and officers, focusing on the early signs of mental health conditions, available treatment options and the need to reduce stigma associated with mental illness.

Speaking on behalf of the Northern Regional Commander of the Ghana Prisons Service, Superintendent Wristberg Maxinus expressed appreciation to the Tamale Teaching Hospital for the intervention.

He stressed the importance of regular health outreach programmes in prisons, citing overcrowding and the heightened risk of communicable diseases within correctional facilities.

The Northern Regional Command of the Ghana Prisons Service reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening collaboration with health institutions to safeguard the health and wellbeing of both prison officers and inmates.