The Officer-in-Charge and Administrator of the Prisons Clinic, ADP Dr Augustina Ama Boadu, has stated that ensuring driver wellbeing through regular medical screening is necessary to prevent road crashes, ensure driver safety, and protect other road users.
She said this during a training session organised in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority on road safety and a general medical screening held for Prisons Service drivers and Orderlies in the Greater Accra Region.
She noted that driver ill-health is associated with higher accident risks on the road, and many drivers are unable to regularly check their health and update their knowledge of road safety regulations.
“Service Drivers and Orderlies, due to their busy work schedules, do not usually participate in periodic healthcare interventions that are implemented for staff of the Prisons Service.
Many of our drivers may have limited knowledge of road safety regulations. And that is why, as a preventive health expert, I see the nexus between refresher training, regular medical screening, and road accident prevention very critical to ensuring early detection of disease and promoting safety on the roads,” she emphasised.
She stated that, just as drivers are required to check their vehicles for defects and other issues before moving, so must their health be regularly checked or monitored for fitness, because the two move together on the road.
Dr Augustina expressed profound appreciation to the Director General of Prisons, Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, for approving the clinic to implement the programme and also sponsoring the programme.
A Senior Manager at the Greater Accra Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Felix Owusu Akyeaw, revealed that statistics on road crashes for the year 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 show over 3,000 lives were lost while close to 17,000 others were injured during the period.
Noting that human errors, mechanical failures, and bad roads are the major causes, health-related causes, including sleep disorders, alcohol consumption, stress, depression, fatigue, and anxiety, were mentioned.
He commended the Prison Service Administration and the Clinic for the initiative taken to promote the health of service drivers and orderlies.
Mary Olivia Cobblah, ISD
