LAST Saturday, residents of Gregory Park and surrounding areas in Portmore, St Catherine, were recipients of reduced cost of health care courtesy of Mobicare.

Mobicare, according to organiser and general practitioner and funder Dr Franz Collins, is an initiative that assists persons of all ages in need of medical care. The St Catherine visit was the company’s first.

“This is an initiative to bring health care to areas that may have poor access to health care. It is more of an outreach and allows people to get all they require at a doctor’s office, right at their doorstep,” he explained.

“All the set up and so forth are from my personal funds. I also reach out to drug companies to get the samples for the medication,” he disclosed.

The event took place at Gregory Park Basic School. A large number of residents turned out to capitalise on the services.

“With Mobicare, persons get free checks such as blood sugar, cholesterol and HIV testing. There is also a subsidised rate for medical consultation. We know that the biggest deterrent to good health practices is the affordability and the convenience, so our aim is to make that easier,” Collins said.

He added that, “The idea is to have this mobile clinic all over the island and bringing it to areas that need it the most. We target people of all ages that may need medical care, but we have realised that our service is particularly helpful to the elderly population who may have difficulty getting to and from health-care providers.”

Collins has been a medical doctor for eight years. After graduating from The University of the West Indies, Mona, he interned at the Spanish Town Hospital for one year.

“After my internship, I spent a year at the Kingston Public Hospital. After that year, I decided to get some experience in rural Jamaica at Percy Junor Hospital from 2017-2019. I then returned to Kingston to work as a resident in general surgery at Kingston Public Hospital 2019-2022. Since then I have decided to dedicate my time to primary care as a general practitioner, which so far has been a rewarding experience,” said Collins.

The next Mobicare stop is scheduled for March 11 in Westchester, Portmore.