Mobile clinic to provide screenings in Khayelitsha
GRANDMOTHERS Against Poverty and Aids (Gapa) has welcomed with excitement the launch of the mobile clinic of the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA), which will offer health screenings to the vulnerable in Khayelitsha.
The high-tech clinic launched yesterday was built with grant funding from the National Lotteries Commission, and is the first in an intended series of mobile clinics, with the aim of bringing access to basic screening and health care, starting with the elderly.
Foundation chief executive Professor Pamela Naidoo said the mobile clinic would assist in educating, informing, diagnosing and referring patients to lessen the strain on the health-care system. “Our trained nurses are ready to conduct health-risk assessments on members of the communities where they work, and provide them with helpful information and advice on how to manage their health.
“Those individuals at risk will be referred for health care and treatment, where needed, to nearby public and private medical facilities. We expect the pandemic to be with us for quite a while and therefore it is vital that we equip vulnerable community members to take better care of themselves in the face of the pandemic,” Naidoo said.
Khayelitsha resident and Gapa member Thandi Ngushelo said they were overjoyed. “This will assist in addressing health concerns in our community. Other times the clinics and hospitals are full and these initiatives give us hope. We are empowered and excited for this launch,” Ngushelo said.
National Lotteries Commission provincial manager Marcelle Musson said the mobile clinic would reach patients who were unable to visit primary-care facilities. “For the majority of South Africans, quality and affordable health care is out of reach. Across the country, people living in townships and rural areas suffer from limited access to health-care services. We are appreciative that the HSFSA’s mobile clinic will make a difference in meeting some of those health challenges,” she said.
The mobile clinic’s daily locations will be made accessible to the public via GPS pin locations plotted on the HSFSAs social media platforms, and young people are encouraged to inform their parents and grandparents.