A health screening exercise organized for indigenes of Teshie, at Accra, has come to an end.

Organised by Cecilia Ayorkor Quaye, a nurse at the LEKMA Polyclinic at Nungua, who also doubles as the CEO of Gadex Enterprise, the exercise saw several residents participating.

Explaining the purpose for organizing the free exercise, Cecilia Ayorkor Quaye said that she realised that many people avoid going to the hospital because they cannot afford to pay for the services offered there.

She added that even though people have the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards, it does not cover every service they get at these health facilities.

“There are several sicknesses hidden inside our bodies and without health screenings, they cannot be detected and then treated. This is also contributing to a lot of the deaths in the country but in my experience, I realize that people come to the hospital, for instance, without even knowing that they have sugar issues.

“Some of these things lead to diabetes and forget diseases and can affect the eyes but eye treatment is expensive and it is not everybody who can afford it. Besides, the NHIS doesn’t cover it. You have to pay for the consultation services for the eye service, so, I decided that I would do a health screening that will cover some of these things for people,” she said in an interview.

Among the services provided for at the screening were free consultations, free medications, malaria tests, BP checks, glucose checks, among others.

A senior staff nurse at the Pediatric Department of the LEKMA Polyclinic, Sekina Ibrahim, gave education to the participants on diabetes and BP.