To Cultivate Community Strength
A report on the Maliba Mobile Clinic by Daniel Ts’osi our Trust manager.
The purpose of the Maliba Mobile clinic is to help mobilize health services nearer to the people, and works in conjunction with the St Denis Clinic nurses. There are three outreaches which are St.Felix, Tiping and St Denis bus stop. The Maliba Mobile Clinic visits each outreach once a month and this serves three big communities close to Maliba Lodge, which are Ts’ehlanyane, Pela Ts’oeu and Kota le Kotanyane.
Maliba Mobile Clinic is working very well at the moment. Most of diseases are treated at the clinic. If they are not able to be managed by the clinic, the nurses refer people to the main clinic at the St Denis Centre Clinic or, if necessary, to nearby hospital, which is Butha Buthe Hospital. This is often the case if there is fracture or operation needed.
Diseases that are treated frequently include the Flu or common cold, High blood pressure, HIV/AIDS counselling and testing and sexually transmitted related diseases. There are many other diseases treated, however these are the most common ones.
The locals greatly appreciate the Mobile Clinic as it provides access to medication that previously was not easily accessible and required lengthy travelling.
“In the mornings when we arrive at the outreaches, we find multitudes of people already there waiting for services, even when it’s raining, or in cold mornings of the Lesotho winter”
Before the implementation on the Mobile Clinic, the community members would have to travel to St Denis Main Clinic by taxis, which they often couldn’t afford.
This meant many people were previously unable to go back for check ups, which they are now able to do at the Mobile Clinic.
This has provided a huge amount of relief for the Nurses, who were often concerned that they were unable to have follow up sessions to monitor recovery of their patients.
Due to success of the Maliba Mobile Clinic, the management from Maliba Community Development Trust intend to continue to work hand in hand with the communities, the ministry of health, and the nurses, to ensure and enforce the long term sustainability of the clinic.
We look forward to its long term prosperity!