500,000 Health Screenings Targeted Under #Knowyournumbers

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is looking to provide 500,000 health screenings during the 2023/2024 financial year, under an initiative aimed at encouraging Jamaicans to do regular health checks to reduce premature death.

Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, who announced the #KnowYourNumbers initiative in his Sectoral Debate presentation on Wednesday (May 4), said it is a practical response to lifestyle diseases, which is the biggest health crisis facing the country.

It is aimed at getting people screened at least once annually to know their status and to take the necessary steps to modify their behaviour to reduce illness and preventable death.

The Minister said there has been an increase in the number of young people dying from NCDs.

Under #KnowYourNumbers, the Ministry will bolster health checks and promote screening in hospitals and clinics across the country.

“Once you enter a facility for any concern or examination, you will be provided with a health screening,” Dr. Tufton said.

Core services to be offered under the initiative include screening for body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, vision, cholesterol, and HIV/syphilis. Expanded services will include Electrocardiogram (ECG), prostate cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, dementia and frailty, and immunisation.

The Minister told the House that the mobile units used in coronavirus (COVID-19) service delivery will be “repurposed to offer mobile screening services to the community, place of work, and play”.

“We will partner with community leaders and civic groups; we will plan and execute community outreach to support screening, targeting the most vulnerable populations in Jamaica. These include people living in remote, difficult, underserved, and unreached areas, to assess and provide management for illness,” he said.

Mobile health clinics will be deployed to each parish and to primary healthcare professionals partnering with community leaders and civic groups such as churches, schools, corporate offices, Members of Parliament, and community-based associations.

“We will take screening to you and encourage you to get screened, as this could save your life,” Dr. Tufton stressed.

He said that the programme will also feature a “pathway” to care, which ensures that once diagnosed with any chronic illness, persons can immediately be referred into treatment to manage the condition.

A detailed ‘Referral Pathways for Core Screening Services’ has been developed by the Ministry and has been circulated to all regional health authorities and parish health departments to ensure that the ethical risks associated with the campaign are sufficiently managed.