A 3-day- free medical outreach was held at DEOTAB hospital, Itesiwaju Olude community, Wire and Cable, Apata Ibadan, on the 26th- 28th November 2020. Many less privileged benefitted from general medical check-up/tests, eye assessments with reading glasses as needed and dental assessments which included tooth extraction as required. Also, facemasks, hand sanitizers, health information leaflets and toothpaste packages were given free to the participants. Free drugs were also given to the participants and those with cataracts were assured of possible free surgery.
A total of 268 people received medical care: 164 females, 66 males and 38 children. The age range seen was 1 month to 85 years, majority were between age 40-69 years and females were twice as many as the males. Eye complaints was the commonest presentations, followed by hypertension, malaria, and PUD.
Refractive error was the commonest eye diagnosis, followed by conjunctivitis then cataracts. The commonest dental finding was dental caries, followed by tooth aches.
With the assistance of Specialists such as Consultant Family Physician, Consultant Dental Surgeon, Consultant Ophthalmologist, Nurses, Health Assistants, and other volunteers, the outreach was highly attended, especially on the third day, which was a weekend. These experts provided the participants with pertinent health education and information.
The outreach ultimately satisfied the majority of the participants’ health needs. A universal health insurance system needs to be promoted.