Free health check-ups for workers on Fridays

A team of doctors will visit labour camps in the UAE to provide free medical consultations and guidance to expatriate workers and check for conditions such as diabetes, dangerous levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are widespread among the workforce. A dedicated medical vehicle manned by specialist doctors and paramedic staff and fitted with medical equipment from the Dr Moopen's Group is to visit the camps every Friday, Chairman Dr Azad Moopen told Emirates Business. The Indian Consulate and Dubai Health Authority were supporting the programme, which would start during the summer. The UAE has one of the highest levels of diabetes in the world and many workers are at risk from hypertension. The team will collect data about the prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases among expatriate workers and hand it to the health authorities so that they can use that data when they organise future programmes. "We are working out the details of the labour camp medical programme, which will be announced soon," said Dr Moopen. "We have received a positive response to the programme from the Indian Consulate and Dubai Health Authority." The initiative is part of the healthcare group's corporate social responsibility programme. Dr Moopen said the company runs clinics in industrial areas such as Al Quoz and Al Aweer in Dubai, Mussaffah in Abu Dhabi, Sanaya in Qatar and Saham, Sohar and Shinaz in Oman. "The fees and charges at our industrial clinics are much less than those at the normal family clinics because the workers cannot afford to pay high treatment costs. "Even when they go back to their home countries, the cost of treatment for chronic illnesses such as cancer and kidney disease are very high and many ordinary people cannot afford them. "The group has been reaching the masses through various community preventive health camps, screening camps, free medical camps, public awareness lectures and seminars. It has also worked with various charities including the Red Crescent to serve the needy." Ismail Rahman, an Indian worker living at Al Qouz industrial area, said: "There are not many clinics here now. Due to the recent economic situation some of the clinics and hospitals in the industrial areas have either closed or their operations have been scaled down. "This initiative from Dr Moopen's Group is a good opportunity for those living in labour camps to check their blood sugar and cholestrol levels. Some of the my friends are diabetics. "Many workers do not visit hospitals or clinics because of the high cost of care." Last year the group ran free medical camps at Jebel Al Industrial Park at which 500 construction workers were treated. Dr Moopen, a physician-turned-entrepreneur based in the UAE, recently received the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award – one of the highest civilian honours given by the Indian government to Non-Resident Indians. He received the award in recognition of his contribution to community welfare activities in the UAE and elsewhere in the GCC countries and in India. The Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (Mims), a charitable trust launched by Dr Moopen, provides free healthcare to more than 7,000 people living below the poverty line at the village of Vazhayoor in the Mallapuram district of Kerala through one of India's first corporate-funded rural medical insurance programmes. Mims also gives free and subsidised treatment worth Rs5 million (Dh400,000) to poor people in India. Dr Moopen set up the MAM community dialysis centre at Vadakkara in Kerala to provide free and subsidised dialysis to the under-privileged. The group has worked with Mims to raise awareness about heart problems among children. The Save the Little Heart programme provides free and subsidised paediatric cardiac surgery to 75 poor suffering from congenial heart disease. Dr Moopen's Group operates a chain of hospitals and clinics in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India.