Mobile health unit sketches plans for 2022

Teams committed to visiting union, village councils in addition to regular duties

RAWALPINDI:

The mobile hospital unit belonging to the Rawalpindi District Health Department, encouraged by a successful and fulfilling 2021, has announced its intention to serve the people of each and every union council as well as village council with renewed vigour and spirit.

With the pandemic at its peak in 2021, the mobile health unit teams provided their services throughout the entire year in addition to working tirelessly through Muharram, Ashura and Eid Miladun Nabi to vaccinate participants in their respective processions.

The teams administered Covid-19 vaccines to a total of 60,575 people—including 33,197 men and 27,378 women—last year, while 30,201 students aged 12 years and above were also inoculated in government schools.

Besides being vaccinated, the students also benefited from general medical check-ups by the competent teams of the mobile health unit.

The unit also conducted medical lab tests of 3,948 patients suffering from various diseases, conducting ultrasound tests of 681 people and assisting more than 20,000 patients with their Outpatient Department (OPD) check-ups. Patients were also provided free medicines, and those in a serious condition were referred to the allied hospitals.

A total of 12 members comprise the main mobile health unit team, including Administrator Zulfiqar Ali, Senior Lady Dr Abida Habib, Staff Nurse Hafiza Kashif Ghazali, Lab Technician Hira Siddique, Bio-technician Khurram Shehzad, X-ray Technician Muhammad Hanif, Dispenser Hafiz Umair Ali, Data Entry Operator Rizwan, van driver Dost Muhammad, Naib Qasid Babar Sultan and sanitary worker Amir Ali.

Free check-up of patients was also done here in collaboration with the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce.

Administrator Zulfiqar Ali told The Express Tribune that this mobile health unit started functioning in 2020.

“In the first year, we performed check-ups and vaccinated a total of 16,026 patients, including 8,838 males and 7,188 females,” he said. “In 2021, as many as 1,778 laboratory tests and 336 were conducted. These services are provided free of cost.”

Zulfiqar further said that they have prepared a master plan for 2022,under which these mobile unit teams will regularly visit all the union councils of Rawalpindi district, where free check-ups, lab tests and ultrasound scans of patients will be done near their homes.

“The lab and x-ray system of this mobile hospital unit is state-of-the-art,” said the administrator. “It may be considered a mini-hospital, with the provision of two beds and a complete check-up system.”

He added that the patients can avail these facilities for free and that the only requirement for them is to produce valid Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs).

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2022.