Nurses are often described as hostile and rude towards patients. But the Mfuleni clinic has embarked on a journey of creating a a harmonies relationship between nurses and the patients by bringing their services close to the people.
This emerged when the facility held health community and staff awareness event last Friday at their grounds together with various organisations. Afrika Tikkun, Care Vision. Khetha Impilo.
Project Mind, Gems and Heads Up were among some of the organisations that heeded the call to bring their health services. But the fundamental aim of the organisation was to inform residents of Mfuleni about some of the services rendered at the facility.
As part of encouraging health living lifestyle , chronic, HIV and other illness were tested on the day while patients were urged to excise regular. Operational Manager at the facility, Mziwandoda Gaji, said they realised that patients and residents in the area were oblivious of the many health services rendered at the clinic.
Furthermore, he said the patients did not understand the operational hours of the facility. He explained the facility was an eight hour facility and opens at 7am and closes at 5pm. But he indicated that when the facility closes there would be one nurse who attends to emergency matters only.
Mr Gaji said one of the key information that they wanted to get across was to urged parents to ensure that the children do not get affected by diarrhea especial in this time of the year. But he also indicated that they also shared with tips with parents do’s and not when children get diagnose with it.
He said they also made it clear that it was vital that women go for cancer screenings and pap smears. He alluded that it was important that they change the negative mindset that people have towards health facilities in general so that people could freely visit them.
“We want our services to be accessible. We want to strengthen our relationships with our clients. We are always looking to improve the quality of our services. Our main priority is to put patients firs,” said Mr Gaji.
He understands that as the facility they could attend to each and every problem but wanted to ensure the services rendered is the best. But he expressed disappointed stating that many patients failed to meet or attend their doctors appointments at the clinics. He said as the facility they had developed a strategy to create appointments with the doctors so that they could avoid overcrowding and unnecessary queues at the clinic.
But he noted that emergency matters do not require appointments. Resident Daniswa Bosisi said she has learnt a lot about some of the services rendered at the clinic. But she said she was not well informed on what to do when a child has diarrhea. Ms Bosisi said it was important that parents ensure that their children were neat and clean all the time.
Representative of South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Lesley -Ann Erasmus-Claassen, said project mind was research pilot under the wing of SAMRC and it aims to strengthen the countries healthy system.
Ms Erasmus-Claassen said they want improve the health system and ensure that all the people have accessible to quality health care.