The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has introduced a mobile van under its Bangalore Healthy Urbanisation Project (BHUP). It is primarily to check the spread of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among poor people.

The van will be equipped with instruments to test blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol. A doctor and a nurse from a nearby BBMP Health Centre, a lab technician and a student of Masters in Social Work will go to various places for screening twice a month in the van.

“Through this mobile van, we want to reach out to the people where health facilities are not available.

We want to generate awareness and screen those having likely symptoms of these NCDs,” L T Gayathri Devi, Chief Health Officer, BBMP told Express.

C Kameshwari Devi, Local Coordinator, BHUP, said that the project would begin in April, with the project concentrating on the Vidyapeeta slum areas first.

“The people in Vidyapeeta slum said that the hospital gets closed by 4 pm, so they do not get time after work. Some came up with reasons that the Health Centres were far, they did not have direct transport facility so they could not go for check up,” said Kameshwari.

A research was conducted under the BHUP in seven areas: Mathikere, Vidyapeeta, Moodalpalya, Pobbathy, Robertson Road, Shantinagar and Vasanthanagar.

The research revealed that among these areas, NCDs were most prevalent in and around Vidyapeeta. Around 11 per cent of the population in the surrounding areas suffer from NCDs, out of which only two per cent had the access to healthcare facilities.

Kameshwari said that the link workers would go door to door to provide the facilities to lower the incidence of NCDs. She said that their focus was to control especially sugar and cholesterol-related diseases, which were spreading alarmingly. “After the screening, cases which require further treatment will be referred to referral hospitals and treated as per the need,” she added.