BMC to begin door-to-door screening for hypertension from Jan 4 in Mumbai

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will begin door-to-door check for hypertension from January 4, 2023, and recruit ayurvedic doctors to strengthen the implementation of its non-communicable diseases (NCD) control programme.

BMC health Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said, The aim is to check the blood pressure of roughly 50 lakh people over the age of 30 years in Mumbai.

According to a report of TOI, BMC has purchased 6,000 BP monitors for the surveillance and trained its health workers on how to use it. The health staff will take BP measurements, and those with higher counts will be termed as 'BP suspect' and directed to the nearest BMC health centre for consultation.

To get around this, Dr Kumar said that the BMC would appoint BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery) to ensure continued care of these patients.

The BMC will also recruit 5,500 ASHA workers to strengthen the NCD programme. Initially, we will start screening for BP, but at a later date, we will begin screening for diabetes in a phased manner, said BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gommare.