HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry and chairman & managing director of Qatar Petroleum (QP), has toured a new diabetes screening bus.
The bus has been launched by ‘Action on Diabetes’ as part of a major workplace campaign to raise awareness of the condition and boost the number of people tested in Qatar. An estimated one among five Qataris are affected by diabetes and more than half have three or more risk factors that can lead to the condition.
Scores of delegates at the ongoing Qatar Petroleum Occupational Health Conference were among the first to be tested at the new mobile facility.
‘Action on Diabetes’ will position the bus at large workplaces in Doha in the coming months, including at QP, which plans to use the facility to improve employees’ health.
Sheikha al-Anoud bint Mohamed al-Thani, Supreme Council of Health (SCH) health promotion and non-communicable diseases director, said: “SCH is a proud partner in this campaign. This is a world-class mobile facility that will lead to more screening capacity in Qatar, more tests at workplaces for those at risk and more awareness of lifestyle factors behind rising rates of diabetes. We know the majority of those with diabetes don’t realise it; so, making it easy for them to be tested is important.”
The custom-made bus is built to world-class standards and fitted with seven testing stations and room for six nurses and two diabetes educators.
A full-range of testing equipment has been fitted to allow the analysis of random blood glucose, HbA1c, cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure.