Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH Photo/S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday shared his experience managing diabetes in a bid to encourage more people to be open about their health, get tested and be treated for non-communicable diseases.
“I am a diabetic patient of 30 years; I take insulin twice a day now. But many people keep their condition a secret. It has to come out someday. This is why regular check-ups are needed every six months,” he said.
He was speaking after launching the state government’s flagship door-to-door non-communicable disease screening programme ‘Gruha Arogya’ on Thursday, where four people were handed medicine boxes.
Having earmarked a total of Rs 92.75 crore for this programme, the health department aims to screen at least 3,03,81,750 people aged 30 years and above — estimated to be about half the state’s population — for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, oral, breast, and cervical cancers, besides checking for symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and mental health conditions. The programme will be live in Kolar and will be scaled up across the state after two months.
Community Health and Primary Health Care Officers, along with ASHAs will visit each home in their designated areas on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and conduct free screening and health counselling, besides providing free medicines to those diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. Monthly camps will be conducted at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs where a medical officer will conduct follow-ups.
Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao noted that the focus in healthcare must also be given to prevention. “We focus on the treatment and cure of health conditions, which is important, but we need to give more importance to the prevention and control of diseases. There are several clinics and hospitals, both government and private, but nobody in the private sector does preventive care. The government must do that,” state health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said.
He noted that while the effects of non-communicable diseases are known among the public, there is a lax attitude about preventing severe effects, which is what the programme aims to solve through community education and counselling.