By Norrasyidah Arshad
KUALA SELANGOR, May 22 — The free health screening programme Selangor Saring, which kicks off today, hopes to see the participation of healthy and physically active individuals to help them detect the presence of any chronic illnesses.
State executive councillor for public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said the initiative is an early intervention effort to help the people get treatment for such illnesses to ensure they are in good health.
“Those who have known diseases would already know their health conditions. Therefore this programme is to help those who consider themselves healthy and active to see if they have any health concerns.
“We urge the public to take advantage of this initiative. We want the people to be aware of their health condition and take accountability for their health, so we want to curb these chronic illnesses at the early stage,” she said after overseeing the operations of the Selangor Saring programme in Ijok, today.
Also present were Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, who is also the former health minister, and Ijok state assemblyman Dr Idris Ahmad.
Dr Siti Mariah said the health screenings offered include physical checks, examination for four cancers (colorectal, prostate, cervical, and breast cancers), and blood and urine tests.
“A booth for Selangor Mental Health (Sihat) will also be set up for individuals to register for the programme, and there will be a special counter for the participants to get (health) advice.
“The Ijok state assemblyman had also added ultrasound and pap smear screenings to screen for cancer. Once the results are available, we will refer the patients to the hospitals or specialists for further treatment,” she said.
The Selangor administration had allocated RM3.4 million for the screening programme, which focuses on detecting medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancers and glaucoma.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the programme is set to benefit 39,000 Selangor people, especially the high-risk groups such as those with a family health history, overweight, or those who lead an unhealthy lifestyle.
Those interested can register via the SELangkah app.
