Under the shade of the centuries-old maple on the Veles square „S'rmaale“, a queue formed today of the kind you rarely see - people waiting to have their blood pressure and sugar measured, free, no referral, no months-long wait for an appointment. A simple operation that shows how little it takes to bring healthcare closer to the citizen, and how rarely that actually happens.

In just two hours, the emergency medical team at the Veles public health centre examined 122 people. Blood sugar was measured in 81 of them, blood pressure in 41. Of those checked, 70 were men and 52 women - some random passers-by, some who heard about the event through the health centre's Facebook page.

The number says more than it looks. One hundred and twenty-two people in two hours means the need is enormous - many hadn't seen a doctor in years, because you wait for an appointment, because the clinic is far, or simply because they have no habit of checking something that doesn't hurt. And high blood pressure and sugar do exactly that - they don't hurt until it's too late.

The health centre is announcing a second event on Tuesday, 21 July, from 9 to 11:30, with a location to be confirmed. A small step, but in a real direction. The question is why points like these are the exception rather than routine practice in every town - because prevention always costs less than a disease caught too late.