BENGALURU: Bengaluru citizens turned up in droves at the Free Health Screening Camp that was conducted in collaboration with M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on Friday and held at The New Indian Express office premises on Queen's Road. City Police Commissioner Suneel Kumar T and Kannada actress Manvitha Harish, who were the chief guests for the event, also underwent a routine medical check-up.
Speech and hearing mobile clinic from Dr S R Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech and Hearing, and mobile tele-oncology centre from Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation arrived with necessary diagnostic equipment to do the check-ups. Bengalureans went through ENT check-up and got screened for orthopaedic ailments too. There were long queues for blood pressure and sugar level check-up. General medicine, dermatology, dental, nutrition and dietetics and cancer screening were other departments from which doctors were present from M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital.
Munendra P, head constable at Vidhana Soudha Police Station, said, "I got my eyes and ears checked. Also got orthopaedic screening and cancer screening done. We never get the time to get a general health check-up done and always have apprehensions. This is a welcome relief."
"Among cancers that can be checked in outdoor settings like mobile clinics, are oral cancer, uterine cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. First, our medical oncologists check the patients for symptoms of oral cancer and our counsellor talks to them about tobacco cessation activities, if they are consuming it. If need be, they are sent to the mobile clinic for further examination. We have two examination beds and for women, a mammography unit," said Ananth Srinath, healthcare consultant and son of B S Srinath, managing trustee of Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation.
A mammogram can cost anywhere between a `1,000 to `4,000 at a private hospital. Speech and Hearing Mobile Clinic had brought equipment to test people with hearing loss, delayed speech development, voice disorders, misarticulation, autism, cerebral palsy, aphasia, cleft lip and palate, difficulty in swallowing and stuttering.
Premakumari C B, Speech Audiologist and camp coordinator, said, "We have a Pure Tone Audiometer to assess the percentage of hearing, impedance audiometry to determine the status of the tympanic membrane and middle ear, otoacoustic emission test to determine status of hair cell function, and Auditory brainstem response audiometry, a neurologic test of auditory brainstem function in response to auditory (click) stimuli."