Manmaya Acharya, a 41-year-old woman from Beli, Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city-7, did not know that she had uterine cancer until July 27. Although she had been suffering for years, she did not have the financial means to visit a hospital.

She suffered in silence and did not tell her family members about the excruciating pain she would experience regularly.

On July 27, she arrived at the ward’s health clinic for a check-up where the specialist doctors were running free medical check-ups under the 'Specialist Ward Health Clinic’ programme. The health specialist health clinic is being run by Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city. The sub-metropolis started the health drive from ward 16 on July 17 and slowly covered all the 19 wards of the sub-metropolis.

According to Yogesh Awasthi, the focal person of the Ward Health Clinic Management Committee, in only one month of the operation of the Specialist Ward Health Clinic programme, 150 people were referred to big hospitals. Most women suffering from uterus cancer have been referred to cancer hospitals in bigger cities.

“Several people with serious illnesses who required treatment were sitting at home for a lack of money,” Awasthi said. “The free health check-up programmes brought many women to the clinic. Free treatment services including medicine were provided to them and those with serious ailments like cancer were referred to other hospitals.”

The free health check-up ensured that men and mostly women from rural areas who had been living with debilitating diseases received the right diagnosis and treatment.

According to Awasthi, 3,036 women and 1,033 men have received free treatment from specialist doctors in all the 19 wards of the Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city in the month.

Medicines worth Rs50,000 have been given to patients through the ward health clinic programme by the sub-metropolitan health unit and supporting organisations have provided Rs5,39,000.

Among the patients who reached the Ward Health Clinic, most were suffering from heart diseases, gastritis, joint pains, high blood pressure, viral fever, diabetes, ear infection, asthma, lower back pain, vaginal infection and uterus problems.

Gopal Hamal, the mayor of the metropolis, said that the ward health clinic programme has been brought into operation since most of the rural population did not opt for health check-ups as they could not afford medical treatment. “We did not have an ENT specialist this time but we plan to bring them for another free health camp in the next two to three months,” said Hamal.

“The 'Specialist Ward Health Clinic' has been launched as a partnership scheme. I plan to give continuity to this programme for the rest of my tenure as mayor,” said Hamal.

There are two physicians and a gynaecologist in the ward clinic service. The Ministry of Women, Children & Social Welfare of the state government has provided machinery and equipment support for the health camp.