“Health Week” in the Lviv community will begin on 2 June and run until and including 6 June: residents will be able to undergo free examinations at 29 locations in different parts of the city.
Most tents will operate from 11:00 to 18:00, and on the final day of the campaign, 6 June, from 10:00 to 15:00. This preventive project allows people to check key health indicators close to home.
During the campaign, it will be possible to measure blood pressure, check blood glucose levels, assess cardiovascular disease risks, have an electrocardiogram, be tested for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, have eyesight and intraocular pressure checked, undergo digital screening for diabetic retinopathy, obtain a consultation with a dentist, have a dermatologist’s examination, be checked for colour blindness, as well as determine blood group and Rhesus factor.
A distinctive feature of this year’s campaign will be the expansion of the range of screening examinations. For the first time, rapid PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests will be offered to identify risks of prostate diseases in men, as well as rapid tests for Helicobacter pylori — a bacterium that is one of the main causes of gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
Also for the first time, some locations will be equipped with fundus cameras for digital screening for diabetic retinopathy — a method for the early detection of damage to the retina associated with diabetes mellitus. These cameras will be installed, in particular, on Rynok Square, at 26-A Volodymyra Velykoho Street (Okean shopping centre), near the monuments to King Danylo Halytskyi and Ivan Franko, at the intersection of Stepan Bandery and Henrala Chuprynky Streets, at 65 Shyroka Street (Levandivskyi market), in Stryiskyi Park, at 358A Shevchenka Street (next to the Silpo supermarket), at 93 Chornovola Avenue (next to the Arsen supermarket) and in Horikhovyi Hai Park at 14A Volodymyra Velykoho Street.
Particular emphasis is being placed on cardiological examinations. At designated points, ambulances will be on duty where anyone interested will be able to have an ECG free of charge and receive medical advice. These vehicles will be stationed in various districts of the city, including on Rynok Square, near the Ivan Franko monument, on Volodymyra Velykoho Street, in Stryiskyi Park, on Shyroka Street, on Chornovola Avenue, in Vynnyky, in Sykhiv and at other locations.
This year’s Health Week tents will be set up in all districts of Lviv. In particular, in Frankivskyi district examinations will be carried out by the lake on Symonenka Street, at 26A Volodymyra Velykoho Street (Okean shopping centre), at 45 Stryiska Street (Fabri) and in Horikhovyi Hai Park at 14A Volodymyra Velykoho Street. In Halytskyi district, locations will operate on Rynok Square, Mytna Square, near the monument to King Danylo Halytskyi, near the Ivan Franko monument, at the intersection of Stepan Bandery and Henrala Chuprynky Streets and in Stryiskyi Park.
In Zaliznychnyi district, tents will operate at 65 Shyroka Street (Levandivskyi market), at 23 Bilohorshcha Street (next to the Narodnyi Dim community centre), at 11 Petliury Street (by the Novyi market), at 100 Vyhovskoho Street (by the Pivdennyi market), at 29A Vyhovskoho Street, as well as in Rudne at 1 Sheptytskoho Street (near the ATB store). In Lychakivskyi district, residents will be seen in the town of Vynnyky at 23 Halytska Street (central bus stop), at 1A Trakt Hlynianskyi Street (ATB) and at 83 Pasichna Street (the square near the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary).
In Sykhivskyi district, points will operate at 109 Stryiska Street, at 36 Chervonoi Kalyny Avenue (Shuvar shopping complex), at 109 Chervonoi Kalyny Avenue (Santa Barbara neighbourhood) and at 18 Sykhivska Street (next to the Sykhiv shopping centre). In Shevchenkivskyi district, locations will operate at the intersection of B. Khmelnytskoho and Kukurudziana Streets (near the Epicentr supermarket, Torpedo market and Pivnichnyi AS-2 bus station), at 358A Shevchenka Street (next to the Silpo supermarket), at 11 Mazepy Street (Balaton), at 93 Chornovola Avenue (next to the Arsen supermarket), in the town of Dubliany at 4 Tarasa Shevchenka Street (near the Administrative Services Centre) and at 60 Shevchenka Street.
The City Council recalled that last year Health Week was held twice — in June and October. More than 17,000 residents took advantage of the free examinations, and doctors found abnormal indicators in almost every third person — most often high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose, visual impairment and cardiovascular disease risks.
“First and foremost, Health Week is about the early detection of problems that a person may not notice for years. Very often, raised blood pressure, impaired sugar levels or the first changes in eyesight have no pronounced symptoms. But it is timely diagnosis that allows complex diseases to be prevented and health, and sometimes even life, to be saved,” said Marta Matiushko, head of the Healthcare Department of Lviv City Council.
Director of the city’s Department of Humanitarian Policy, Valentyna Bartoshyk, stressed that such preventive campaigns have already proved effective, as for many people the examination results were the first signal to pay attention to their health and see a doctor.
Medical institutions of the Lviv community — territorial medical associations, treatment and diagnostic centres and dental polyclinics — are traditionally involved in organising Health Week.