Doctors screen 5,000 for NCDs

Significant increases in the occurrence of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) namely, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and cerebrovascular disease, threaten to erode decades of public sector investment,” said Health Minister, Terrence Deyalsingh. He said in recent years, NCDs have become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality locally.

“Without action, the increasing prevalence of NCDs will continue to unduly burden our health system, consume already scarce resources and severely undermine our socio-economic advancement,” he said.

Chairman of the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA), Steve De Las said the Authority is transforming the way healthcare is delivered by aggressively pushing back the spread of NCDs by reaching out to citizens who are most at risk.

He said the Authority has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach to tackling NCDs by providing citizens with counselling, dietary advice, lifestyle changing strategies and follow up services to ensure they benefit from a higher quality of life. “Transformation succeeds by communicating its significance through a strong team and by encouraging wider involvement. The NCRHA, with a group of dedicated and committed team members, have shown they are willing to take on the challenge,” added De Las.

The “Walk-The-Talk” project is part of a wider strategy to step up the Authority’s battle against NCDs by providing testing, screening equipment, training and support for community groups. The project which has engaged religious groups, seeks to empower community organizations to proactively seek out high risk persons so they can receive urgent medical attention.

The NCRHA’s doctors and medical personnel provides training and the support needed to conduct ongoing testing and screening within communities as well as during community gatherings such as church services, sports, fairs and local events. More than 3,000 persons have already been immunized against the flu, and 20 community organizations will be presented with screening equipment as the NCRHA continues to work with communities to monitor and refer high risk patients to doctors.

“We realize that providing early preventative medical care, can contribute significantly towards improving the quality of life for our potential patients, as well as reduce the need for secondary or emergency care later on. This allows us to detect health problems long before they reach crisis levels for patients,” says CEO of the NCRHA, Davlin Thomas.

He said the project will leave equipment in the hands of community organizations who will be able to continuously monitor the health stats of their members, so they can identify and direct high risk persons to the attention of doctors long before they see the negative symptoms on their lifestyle.

“Combating non-communicable diseases is a mission that must engage all of us, and this is not only an issue for medical personnel, but communities as a whole,” he added. “Apart from improving the quality of life for those affected, early detection and screening also reduces the cost of medical care in the long run. He noted that the equipment, personnel and medication required to respond to critical illness bought on by NCDs is much higher than the lifestyle changes that individuals can take to mitigate serious symptoms and illness later on.

The “Walk-The-Talk” project will provide community institutions such as churches, mosques and temples with blood pressure monitors, blood sugar testers, BMI calculators and the training of community representatives so they are empowered to provide ongoing care and monitoring to members of their institution. The representatives have direct and frequent contacts with medical personnel from the NCRHA so they can monitor and fast-track care to high risk patients.

Because there are usually no symptoms at the onset of NCDs, the project seeks to expand access to early screening so more people will be are aware of their status and potential risk. With early detection, we can address symptoms and other indicators that put citizens at higher risk for deadly lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and hypertension.