Lagos organises free health care for drivers

IN its bid to bring health to the door-steps of drivers, the Lagos State Ministry of Health has organised free programme for commercial drivers in some selected motor parks in the state.The idea is to give the drivers and their conductors the opportunity to have free medical tests and know their health status.Community News learnt that the ministry felt that drivers and conductors, because of the nature of their jobs, would usually have no time to go for medical checkups, hence the decision of the government to take the programme to motor parks and garages.The checkups, Community News learnt, included blood, sugar level, hypertension and others. Some drivers, who had benefited from the scheme at Iyana Ipaja Garage, commended the state Ministry of Health for bringing free health to their doorsteps.'We are very grateful to the state government for the initiative. It has really helped us to know our health status. Because of the nature of our job, we don't normally have time to go for routine medical check up, but with this gesture now, I have been able to know some facts about my status," Alhaji Raji Olayiwola, a driver at Iyana Ipaja Garage told Community News.When Community News visited the motor park, health workers were seen attending to the drivers to drivers.One of the health workers who spoke to Community News on condition of anonymity, explained the state Ministry of Health decided to organise the programme based on the realisation of the fact that drivers and conductors, due to the nature of their job, don't bother to go for routine check up, hence the initiative to go to garages in Lagos state."Our findings revealed that Lagos drivers and conductors usually work round the clock. And based on that they hardly go for check up and to curb incident of untimely death, we decided to take the programme to the parks and we are trying to make sure that the programme move round the parks and garages."Community News learnt that the turn out of drivers at parks already visited was tremendous as the drivers were embracing the project.
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