PETALING JAYA: On average, 63 cases related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are reported to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) every day, says Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud.
As such, he urged employees to take advantage of the Socso Health Screening Programme (HSP) 3.0 that comes with improved health screening parameters and extensive screening tests to detect more risk factors for NCDs.
Citing Socso statistics from last year, Mustapha said 23,174 contributors experienced disability or died due to NCDs.
“The HSP 2022 analysis found that 42% of workers were obese, 14.1% had diabetes, 27.9% had high blood pressure, and 61.2% had high cholesterol.
“Health screenings could help individuals detect diseases at an early stage followed by controlling and avoiding serious complications that involve high costs for treatments,” he said yesterday at the launch of HSP 3.0 at the UEM Edgenta Learning Centre here.
Mustapha also said that Socso is targeting more than 2.2 million contributors aged between 40 and 59 to take part in HSP 3.0 this year.
“I would like to urge all employees to take advantage of this HSP 3.0. Employers need to also play a role in getting employees to undergo health screening provided by the government for free,” he said.
Apart from UEM Edgenta staff, the event was also attended by Socso chief executive Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed and Edgenta Mediserve Sdn Bhd managing director Shaiful Subhan.
Mohammed Azman noted that employees are the main asset of any organisation in driving operations and business.
“Therefore, the level of employee health is closely linked to the company’s productivity and profits,” he said.
HSP 3.0, which began on May 16, will go on until Dec 31.
It includes mental health screening, a red blood composition test, diabetes screening through the HbA1c test, a cholesterol level test, a liver and kidney function test, as well as a blood cancer test.
For female employees, screening also includes breast and cervical cancers.
HSP 3.0, or Post-Covid-19 Health Screening Programme, is carried out via the RM70mil grant under Budget 2023.
