Three-day health week to offer free treatment
An image of a hospital. PHOTO: REUTERS
The District Health Authority (DHA) has completed arrangements for blood screening, ultrasound counselling and free medicine facilities in 20 centres as part of a three-day "Health Week" in Rawalpindi district.
During the "Health Week", which will go on from November 21 to 22, free medical treatment facilities will be provided to citizens at seven Tehsil Headquarter Hospitals (THQ), 10 Rural Health Centres (RHCs) and three Basic Health Units (BHUs). The DHA has also set a target to complete the revamping of BHUs and RHCs all over the district in three stages, with the first phase scheduled to be completed by December.
Citizens will be able to visit screening camps for diabetes, tuberculosis, pulmonary health and haematology screening. Pregnant women will undergo checkups and children under two years of age will be vaccinated.
DHA CEO Dr Asif Arbab Niazi said that citizens will be formally registered at the screening camps during the Health Week. "These camps will provide all necessary medical treatment facilities, including free medicines, in order to allow citizens to take nine steps forward towards a healthy life," he said.
Additionally, specialist doctors will be present to make sure that medicine is properly administered after blood screenings and medical checkups have been carried out.
They will also counsel citizens by providing them with guidelines on living a healthy life. "While no one can fully protect themselves from diseases, in the case of illnesses, they can get rid of the disease by following the doctor's guidelines," said the CEO.
Moreover, the project to revamp 98 BHUs and RHCs across the district and equip them with all necessary electro-medical equipment is already in process. In the first phase, the revamping of 23 BHUs and seven RHCs and with installation of essential electro-medical equipment will be completed by December. In the second phase, 30 more BHUs and RHCs will be revamped, after which, another 38 BHUs and RHCs will be renovated in the third phase.