A GROUNDBREAKING health screening program operating in Melbourne’s west is really rolling thanks to a generous donation.
Ventura Bus Lines has donated a 26-seat bus to University of Melbourne medical students volunteering in a program to help people who might otherwise miss out on an important health check.
The bus will carry students between classes and practical sessions at Sunshine and Footscray hospitals and to health-screening sessions at Centrelink offices across the west.
Although most Victorian workers have access to health checks, Western Melbourne Regional Development Australia (WMRDA) identified a screening gap for people who are unemployed or in casual work.
The screening program involves the University of Melbourne, Western Centre for Health Research and Education, Western Health, the Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Ventura and the WMRDA.
The chairman of WMRDA, Bill Jaboor, said the students had been keen to support what had been a pilot program, which would now start in earnest, pending funding.
The program had screened 2000 people across Centrelink offices at Sunshine, Footscray, Werribee, Melton and Newport over six months.
“The University of Melbourne medical students were a great help and developed a real rapport with the participants,” Mr Jaboor said.
Ventura managing director Andrew Cornwall said he was delighted to help. “They made a real contribution to a project that made a difference in our community,” he said.
The project has been such a success it is being established in other regions across Australia.
Brimbank Council’s general manager of community wellbeing, Kelly Grigsby, said the municipality faced dire health problems and needed all the help it could get.
“Figures released last year by Diabetes Australia-Victoria revealed that Brimbank is the number one ‘hot spot’ for diabetes in metropolitan Melbourne, with almost 12,000 residents living with the disease,” she said.
“The rate of obesity in men and women is also higher than the Victorian average.”
The bus was handed over during a student award ceremony at Sunshine Hospital on last week.
