Healthcare scheme benefits 25k construction workers in 3 months in Mysuru

Mysuru: The labour department's preventive healthcare scheme for registered construction workers and their dependents has seen an encouraging response in Mysuru. Around 25,000 beneficiaries availed services over the past three months. Weekly screenings cover 21 health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and HIV.

The screenings include tests for 21 types of health complications, such as hypertension, diabetes, liver disease, and HIV. In addition to these tests, the scheme covers blood sugar, cholesterol, pulmonary function test (PFT), audiometric tests, eye examinations, and complete blood count (CBC) tests for identifying anaemia and diagnosing other infections and blood disorders. A comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) is conducted to assess kidney and liver function, electrolytes, and blood sugar levels.

Lipid profile check-ups assess cholesterol and triglyceride levels for cardiovascular health. Other tests include thyroid function tests, coagulation tests for evaluating blood clotting, arterial blood gas (ABG) tests for blood oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH levels in the body, and C-reactive protein tests for identifying inflammation levels.

Additional tests, such as urine analysis, stool culture for identifying bacteria and parasites, allergy testing for skin-related problems, ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) tests to check infection and inflammation in the body, GGTP blood tests for enzyme assessment, and Hepatitis B tests, are also conducted.

As construction workers are exposed to hazardous materials, dust, chemicals, toxins, noise, and physically demanding work, the department launched this preventive health check-up scheme with the main intention of providing timely intervention and treatment after identifying potential health problems before they become complicated.

Mysuru district has 1.8 lakh registered construction workers. The scheme aims to benefit these workers and their six to seven lakh dependent family members. The department has conducted this scheme through the Karnataka Building Construction and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (KBOCWWB) for the well-being of construction workers. The KBOCWWB has entered into an agreement with HLL Lifecare and several other agencies to provide health check-up services for construction workers and their dependents in the districts.

Under the scheme, the department of labour covered 25,000 screenings for construction workers and their dependents against the target of 33,000 in the district so far. The screenings are conducted twice weekly at the district labour department office premises in Mysuru. Mobile health check-ups are also conducted in construction worker-concentrated wards and villages with the help of Building Construction and Other Construction Workers Association members across the district.

District labour officer Chethankumar said the scheme received a good response from the construction workers, with about 25,000 benefitting so far since its launch. The preventive health check-up not only helps identify health disorders but also provides timely intervention and treatment. The scheme benefits construction workers and their family members, who significantly contribute to the growth of the economy. They can also avail benefits under the Karnataka Karmikara Bhagya scheme, which provides medical assistance of Rs 5 lakh annually for treatment of life-threatening diseases at its empanelled hospitals, he said.

"The scheme has helped me and my family members to avail timely screening and treatment," said Mahadeva, a construction worker from Vyasarajapura village in T Narasipura taluk.