The sixth Blesk Ordinace showed how Czech News Center’s projects can improve lives, and in this case even save them. In five cities, a record 16,455 people had themselves examined this year, 1,282 more than last year. Almost every ninth visitor needs further medical care, and in several cases the doctors’ findings had life-saving potential.
A media project with real impact
Blesk, as a brand, has long linked media with public service. Blesk Ordinace is an example of the reach that media can have beyond their pages and screens. In Děčín, Písek, Brno, Zlín and Prague, 98 screening tents were set up in cooperation with hospitals, and during a total of 588 hours they brought people direct contact with doctors. Each tent was also an editorial point, a place where journalistic content turned into practical help.
Data that speak clearly
Of the 16,000 people examined, 1,484 had a health problem they often did not know about. Doctors detected 99 dangerous skin lesions, 109 people with high blood sugar and 391 at risk of a heart attack. In Prague, the first visitor was already waiting for an examination at 8am, and in Písek the queue for mole checks was so long that a female doctor kept seeing patients until 7pm to examine everyone who came. These cases showed that the media reach of Blesk and other titles can bring people to prevention, including those who would otherwise put off their checks.
Cooperation that makes sense
The project involved hospitals from Děčín to Prague and, as usual, the health insurer VZP ČR as general partner. “We can see attendance at preventive programmes rising in traditional clinics, and here the same trend was confirmed under the open sky,” says VZP director Zdeněk Kabátek. The event was under the patronage of Health Minister Vlastimil Válek, who said: “This year’s Blesk Ordinace is behind us, and if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be: THANK YOU! I thank the Blesk Ordinace team, which runs the whole event. I was glad to give it the minister’s long-term patronage. At well-organised events, serious findings come up every year. They may not make patients happy, but they have life-saving potential.”
Combining content, music and prevention
Blesk brought not only health education, doctors, equipment and experts to the cities, but also an appealing programme. Michal David, Olga Lounová and Milan Peroutka performed on the stages and helped attract people to the screening tents. There was also an autograph session with actors from the TV series Ordinace v růžové zahradě 2.
Big thanks go to Radek Lain, Olza Nedbálková and the whole Blesk team, as well as to Linda Laputka and her event team. Over six years, the Blesk Ordinace project has become a platform for convincing hundreds of thousands of Czechs to take prevention seriously and look after their health. Not only Blesk, but also the other titles, projects, partners and organisations that have joined the event thanks to it, not only inform people about the importance of health but also actively help to improve it.
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