Local services
The local government is also responsible for providing primary school health care in Debrecen. This is done in close cooperation with the Debrecen Primary Care and Health Development Institute (Abbreviated in Hungarian as Daefi), which belongs to the Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen.
The unique feature of Debrecen’s school health care is that Daefi’s Pósa Street centre provides complex, significantly more extensive than those required health services, otherwise financed by the government, thanks to the support of the local government, from screening tests to experiential health education programs that also serve to build community.
According to Deputy Mayor Diána Széles, the actual value of these screening tests is seen when they can help children whose hidden health problems would otherwise not have been revealed. If these problems can be solved, the affected children and their families can live peacefully. Apart from Debrecen, no other city in the country provides ECG screening for children as part of school health care. This has enabled a total of 17 children to be diagnosed with the so-called WPW syndrome, an arrhythmia that can lead to sudden cardiac death, for example, due to stress or greater mental exertion.
Thanks to discovering and treating the problem, these children can now live safely. The Deputy Mayor, therefore, considers it very important that the city operates the Caring City programme within the framework of which this unique school health service is also taking place. Special thanks are due to the staff of the Clinical Centre of the University of Debrecen and the Debrecen Institute for Primary Care and Health Development Institute for their dedicated work.
Mónika Nemes‘ son is now 14 years old. She said her child took part in a school screening two years ago, where an ECG examination was performed. This is how it was discovered that he has a heart condition. According to the diagnosis, the atrium and ventricle function separately. A difficult period followed; he had to stop playing sports, and after two years of pediatric cardiology care, the young man received a pacemaker.
His fatigue had not been noticeable before, as he had just entered adolescence. The screening test revealed the health problem, so the family is very grateful to the school for allowing the child to participate in such a screening test, which showed his serious illness, for which a solution could be found.
The family now feels much calmer and safer about the child, who is much fitter than before, although he cannot play sports again. Mónika Nemes believes that children must participate in these screening tests because diseases that do not cause symptoms but can suddenly appear may be diagnosed. However, screenings can reveal problems, which can then be addressed. This way, parents can rest assured that their child’s illness is being monitored and that there are therapeutic solutions. If the disease is of such a nature, it is even possible to achieve a complete recovery.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
