Ambulatory Healthcare Services Launches 2013-2014 Annual Screening Program

To Cover 28,231 Students from 176 Public Schools in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 09 November, 2013 –Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS), a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), is rolling out the school health screening program for the academic year 2013 - 2014 across 176 public schools in Abu Dhabi Emirate.

The program aims to screen 28,231 students to achieve early detection of diseases and take prompt action through referring the cases.

Of the total number of students covered within the program, 13,971 are from Abu Dhabi Island and Middle Region, 12,020 from the Eastern Region and 2,240 from the Western Region.

Mohamed Al Ahbabi, Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of the School Screening Committee from AHS, said: “We have anticipated a five percent increase in the number of students to be screened in public schools in comparison with 2012. The screening for the academic year 2013 - 2014 is scheduled to be rolled out in 70 schools in Abu Dhabi Island and Middle Region, 82 in the Eastern Region and 24 in the Western Region, all of which will be completed by end of June 2014.”

The routine screenings for the academic year have been upgraded to meet the Health Authority Abu Dhabi's (HAAD) new standards and will include the complete blood count (CBC) only for Grade 1 and female Grade 9. The test will measure the concentration of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets to help evaluate any condition that students may encounter. The CBC is part of a comprehensive checkup that includes tests for the body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, as well as hearing, vision acuity and scoliosis in addition to dental checkup.

Louise Bain, Chief Operations Officer at AHS, added: “The annual screening conducted by our medical and nurses staff coincides with our proactive efforts to ensure children receive appropriate medical attention in schools. We believe it is important to share the importance of good health and early detection of diseases with children. Through our ongoing initiatives, we hope our students adopt the healthy habit of monitoring and following up on their medical conditions to ensure that they enjoy a life-time of good health.”

For the academic year 2012 - 2013, AHS rolled out the screening program across 176 public and 22 private schools. The total number of students been screened in public schools is 26,531 students. AHS concluded the screenings in 22 private schools with total number 3211 students. The distribution was 11 schools from Abu Dhabi Island and Middle Region, 10 from the Eastern Region, and one from the Western Region that specifically requested their students to be included in the annual screening.

The school screening program has witnessed many success stories in early detection of diseases and health conditions. In one case, a student who was suffering from bad academic performance and was thought to be inattentive and not focused in class, was discovered to have hearing problems during the school screening. As a result the student was referred to a specialist and underwent the necessary treatment which ultimately led to an improvement in his school performance.