A citywide preventive initiative, “Health Week”, has started in Lviv. From 6 to 10 October, residents and visitors can have free check-ups and receive expert consultations in outdoor medical tents set up at 33 locations in different parts of the city. The event is organised by the Health Care Department of the Lviv City Council together with municipal medical institutions.
This year, in addition to the usual tests, it is for the first time possible within the campaign to check ferritin levels – the body’s iron stores. Women are being consulted by gynaecologists from St Anna’s Hospital. Teams of doctors are working in the tents, taking blood samples, measuring blood pressure, and providing consultations on test results and disease prevention.
“For some reason, we only think about our health when we start to lose it… The sole aim is to detect illnesses at an early stage, so that they are easier to treat later on… So I urge Lviv residents – don’t walk past these tents indifferently. Come over, ask questions, have your blood pressure checked, do some tests. Health is the greatest gift, and it needs to be protected,” — Andriy Sadovyi
During Health Week, everyone who wishes can:
- measure their blood pressure and check their blood glucose level;
- have a ferritin test;
- assess their risk of cardiovascular disease;
- have an electrocardiogram (ECG);
- be tested for HIV and hepatitis B and C;
- have a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test;
- sign up for a Helicobacter pylori test;
- determine their blood group and Rhesus factor;
- have a dermatological examination and a consultation with a dentist;
- consult an obstetrician-gynaecologist from St Anna’s Hospital.
Certain services, including ECGs, as well as dental and obstetric-gynaecological consultations, are available at designated locations on specific days of the campaign.
Where and when you can have a check-up
From 6 to 10 October, the medical tents operate according to the following schedule:
- 6–7 October, 11:00–18:00: pl. Rynok; pl. Mytna; vul. V. Velykoho (next to the Okean shopping centre); village of Rudno (junction of vul. A. Sheptytskoho and vul. Ohiienka); pr. Chervonoi Kalyny (next to the Zubra-centr shopping centre); pr. V. Chornovola, 93.
- 6 October, 11:00–18:00: vul. Shyroka (by the Levandivskyi market); town of Vynnyky, vul. Halytska, 21–23; pr. V. Chornovola (next to the Lviv Hotel).
- 7 October, 11:00–18:00: town of Dublyany (by the Administrative Service Centre); vul. B. Khmelnytskoho (next to the Pivnichnyi bus station, AS-2); vul. T. Shevchenka, 60 (next to the Silpo supermarket).
- 8–9 October, 11:00–18:00: the square in front of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv; vul. T. Shevchenka (near the VAM shopping centre); vul. Sykhivska (next to the Sykhiv shopping centre).
- 8 October, 11:00–18:00: the area by the monument to King Danylo Halytskyi; vul. V. Velykoho (by the Ashan shopping centre); the junction of vul. S. Bandery and vul. Hen. Chuprynky; vul. Trakt Hlynianskyi (near ATB-Market); vul. B. Hrinchenka (by the Zboishchanskyi market).
- 9 October, 11:00–18:00: vul. V. Symonenka (the square by the Vasyl Symonenko Lyceum); the square at the junction of vul. I. Vyhovskoho and vul. Ye. Patona; vul. Pasichna (the square by the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary); vul. Tershakovtsiv, 1; vul. Stryiska, 109.
- 10 October, 10:00–15:00: Stryiskyi Park (next to the former Lviv cinema); vul. Stryiska (Fabrik retail and office centre); vul. Bilohorshcha (by the Bilohorshcha community centre); vul. S. Petliury (next to the Novyi market); vul. I. Vyhovskoho (next to the Pivdennyi market); vul. Naukova (by the VAM shopping centre); pr. Chervonoi Kalyny (by the Shuvар shopping complex); the square at the junction of vul. Mazepy and vul. P. Orlyka.
Specific points have been designated where you can have an ECG and receive dental and gynaecological consultations:
- 6 October: ECG — pl. Rynok; vul. Shyroka, 65 (by the Levandivskyi market); vul. Halytska, 23 in Vynnyky; pr. Chornovola, 93. Gynaecologists — pl. Rynok; vul. V. Velykoho, 26A (near the Okean shopping centre); vul. Shyroka, 65; pr. Chornovola, 93. Dentists — pl. Rynok; pl. Mytna; vul. V. Velykoho, 26A, Okean shopping centre.
- 7 October: ECG — vul. V. Velykoho, 26A; vul. Sheptytskoho, 1 in Rudno; junction of vul. B. Khmelnytskoho and Kukurudziana; pr. Chornovola, 93. Gynaecologists — pl. Rynok; vul. V. Velykoho, 26A; vul. Sheptytskoho, 1 in Rudno. Dentists — pl. Rynok; vul. V. Velykoho, 26A; pr. Chervonoi Kalyny, 109.
- 8 October: ECG — vul. V. Velykoho (next to the Ashan shopping centre); by the monument to King Danylo Halytskyi; by the monument to Ivan Franko; junction of vul. S. Bandery and vul. Hen. Chuprynky. Gynaecologists — vul. V. Velykoho (by the Ashan shopping centre); the area by the monument to King Danylo Halytskyi; by the monument to Ivan Franko. Dentists — vul. V. Velykoho (by the Ashan shopping centre); by the monument to King Danylo Halytskyi.
- 9 October: ECG — vul. Vyhovskoho, 29A; vul. Tershakovtsiv, 1; vul. Sykhivska, 18 (near the Sykhiv shopping centre); vul. Shevchenka, 358A (by the VAM shopping centre). Gynaecologists — vul. Sykhivska, 18; vul. Shevchenka, 358A. Dentists — by the lake on vul. Symonenka; by the monument to Ivan Franko.
- 10 October: ECG — vul. Naukova (by the VAM shopping centre); Stryiskyi Park (next to the former Lviv cinema); vul. Petliury, 11 (next to the Novyi market); pr. Chervonoi Kalyny (by the Shuvар shopping complex). Gynaecologists — Stryiskyi Park. Dentists — vul. Stryiska, 45; vul. Vyhovskoho, 100 (by the Pivdennyi market).
Participants’ experience and doctors’ advice
City residents who have already taken up the opportunity to be examined highlight how convenient the format is. Kateryna, 21, found out about Health Week on social media and decided to combine a walk around the city with a health check. She plans to have her eyesight tested and her blood pressure measured, as she does not always have the chance to do this at home.
Halyna, 51, passing a tent on her way about her daily business, decided first and foremost to check her heart and to be tested for hepatitis. She stresses that such initiatives are a good chance not to put off looking after one’s health.
Veronika, 14, came to Lviv on holiday with her mother. During a walk they also visited a medical tent, have already seen a gynaecologist and are planning an appointment with an ophthalmologist. According to the girl, the mobile format of the examinations saves time and is more convenient for those who are reluctant to visit polyclinics.
Doctors emphasise that people often ignore the first symptoms of illness for years, taking them as something normal. Family doctor Solomiia Bondaruk explains that severe headaches may indicate high blood pressure, constant fatigue may point to anaemia, and stomach pain or high acidity may suggest the presence of Helicobacter pylori. Doctors urge people not to wait until conditions worsen, but to respond even to minor changes in how they feel.
According to previous campaigns, these check-ups most often reveal high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, cardiovascular risk, dermatological problems and hepatitis. According to Marta Matiushko, head of the city’s Health Care Department, more than 10,000 people were examined during the summer Health Week, mainly middle-aged and older people, although the number of young people taking part in preventive check-ups is increasing every year.
To recap, 10,356 people attended the summer Health Week. Almost one in three was found to have abnormal readings that required further medical attention. In particular, more than 2,900 participants were found to have high blood pressure, over 1,700 had problems with glucose levels, and around 350 people needed further tests due to ECG changes.
This summer, Lviv also ran the “Check-up for Children” programme, which took place from 15 July to 15 September in eight medical institutions in the city. With a referral from a family doctor or paediatrician, children could visit an ophthalmologist, surgeon and neurologist without a prior appointment, combining several consultations in one visit. Over two months, doctors held more than 5,000 appointments.
Health Week in this broad format has been held in Lviv for three years in a row now – in summer and autumn. The organisers stress that the aim of the campaign is to make preventive check-ups as accessible as possible and to encourage city residents to monitor their health on a regular basis.
Video of the Health Week campaign in Lviv: watch via this link