Bengaluru, 24 Oct

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the "Gruha Arogya": "Healthcare at Your Doorstep" initiative here, aimed at providing free health check-ups and treatment to citizens at their homes.

This scheme, a flagship programme of the Department of Health and Family Welfare for the control and management of non-communicable diseases seeks to reach underprivileged sections and ensure timely detection of diseases, officials said.

The programme has been launched for Kolar district initially and subsequently the scheme shall be scaled up to include all districts after two months, officials said.

According to the Health Department, a total budget of Rs 92.75 crore has been earmarked for this program by Karnataka government.

Approximately 63 per cent of all deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases.

According to health department, teams comprising Community Health Officers, Primary Health Care Officers, Health Inspecting Officers, ASHAs shall carry out door to door visits in their Ayushman Arogya Mandir area for screening of major non-communicable diseases including diabetes, hypertension and three common cancers namely oral cancer, breast and cervical cancer (aimed at women) for individuals aged 30 years of age and above.

Screening shall be done on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until all houses are covered. Apart from this screening for signs and symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Mental Health Conditions will also be done. Counselling on lifestyle modification measures to prevent and control non-communicable diseases will be given to all individuals by the teams, it stated.

"Individuals who are suffering from Diabetes and Hypertension shall be provided requisite medicines free of cost during the screening visits. Additionally, provision will be made to provide medicines for treatment of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) for senior citizens, specially abled patients and patients who are on palliative care on a regular basis," the health department said in a statement.-PTI