#AppreciationMonday: Solar-powered clinic in Eastern Cape services more than 450 patients a month
Now this is exactly what we feel grateful for on a Monday.
Access to healthcare in our country is anything but a well-serviced system. Many people travel longs hours to reach clinics and sometimes they don't even get seen by a medical professional.
We're not going to get into the reasons behind this, because today we want to celebrate a win for the community people of Xhora Mouth in the Eastern Cape.
The people in the rural areas feel the worst when it comes to access to efficient healthcare. Because the cost to travel to the closest clinics are exorbitent and time consuming.
It can cost up to R800 for a return trip in a private car trip to visit the clinic, the alternative is transport via a boat ride which costs R20.
We are happy to hear then that in the Nqileni village, "Bulungula Incubator, a nonprofit organisation, has helped to bring primary health care closer to the community.
Staffed by two nurses, a solar-powered health point established in 2012 is open six days a week. It sees more than 450 patients a month." (News24)
Not only can mothers take their babies to receive their immunisations from the health point, but also HIV, TB and Blood pressure patients are able to collect their chronic medications as well.
"With solar-powered fridges, the health point is also able to maintain a cold chain for vaccines. During the Covid pandemic, Bulungula Incubator partnered with the government on eight outreach days.
Later the health point was approved as an official vaccination site. Because of these initiatives, the vaccination rate in the community is 96%." (News24)
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The Bulungula Incubator found that there was a need to make healthcare information more accessible to the community.
And so besides the health workshops that are run at health point and schools regularly, 20 community health workers, called nomakhayas (home-based carers) have been hired.
They are responsible for visiting 450 households in a month. This is a great way of educating the people of the community, whilst also providing employment.
"The nomakhayas are trained to monitor patients' health, provide information and advice, and refer patients to the health point when necessary. They also carry out blood pressure and blood sugar tests and check that people on chronic medication are adhering to their treatment, especially elderly people who often struggle to understand the nurses’ instructions." (News24)
Feedback is then provided to the nurses on the patients' and their progress. We really needed to hear this kind of news this week.
Image Courtesy of Pexels