The Green Point clinic held its fourth annual open day on Friday September 21 to inform and educate members of the public about the services that the health facility offers.
The clinic serves the residents of Green and Sea Point as well as patients from communities on the Cape Flats.
At the open day, staff from different departments each gave a presentation which focused on their goals, missions and challenges.
The clinical head, Dr Justin Standaar, said one of their major concerns was patients who did not meet their appointments.
“Whether they miss their doctor’s dates or appointments for medication, we can’t turn away the patients but we need them to work with us,” he said.
Adding to that, said pharmacy manager, Moosa Joseph, it was key for the patient to follow instructions.
“We find it disturbing that when a patient collects their medicine, they don’t come on the correct day and some of them stay without medication for sometimes up to three weeks and that worsens their health conditions,” he said.
The patients were then taught how to store their medication and how to use it correctly.
“People store their medication in their cars and some in their bathrooms and the heat can negatively impact on the medication itself so when they use it, it’s not as effective as it should be,” explained Mr Joseph.
Dr Standaar said their goal at the clinic had always been to provide a quality level of care to patients, without discrimination.
“We obviously prioritise certain (patients) such as the elderly and disabled people, but there’s no complete separation between patients.
“They all come in the same queue, whether they come for crime and lifestyle disease or HIV/Aids. The only separation is whether a patient made an appointment or not,” he said.
The clinic is currently running an off-site service through which they take medication to the community of Bo-Kaap and they plan to expand this to other communities as well.
Health promoter at the clinic, Rizqah Corsten, said the clinic is visited by about 200 patients a day, but the work runs smoothly because they all work together.
And last week they found themselves in a situation where teamwork was crucial. A woman who was in labour, walked in – but there is no labour ward at the clinic.
“She rocked up here unannounced and told us she didn’t know that she was pregnant and she had cramps. The staff, from cleaners to doctors, ran around and worked together in assisting her. Every department in the clinic was involved. And we delivered a healthy baby boy and because of donations we usually get from the community at large, the boy had clothes when they left. “That is the teamwork that we strive for, “ said Dr Standaar.