The community of Buxton village will soon receive decent healthcare service at their door step. The construction of new Buxton Clinic is now complete. The facility is a replacement clinic which has seen the demolition of the old dilapidated structure in November 2012 to give way for the modern structure.
Built at the cost of about R13.4 million, the clinic has increased the number and size of consulting rooms and waiting areas thus enabling more community members to be served eliminating any need to wait for service outside the clinic.
The new development has brought elation to the community. Mmathapelo Phathe, 29, could not hide her excitement during our recent visit to the clinic. Ms Phathe gave birth in an ambulance en route to Taung Hospital. Though bringing a new life to planet earth is a pleasant occurrence, the experience was traumatic but the new facility restored hope for a better healthcare, she said.
“The clinic is now bigger and can accommodate more people unlike before where it would be overcrowded and people queuing outside which was a problem especially during rainy, cold and very hot weather conditions" she said.
Ms. Phathe welcomed news that the new clinic has a maternity ward; and that ity will now open for 24 hours.
The developments in Buxton village follows MEC Dr Magome Masike’s visit to various clinics in the province soon after his appointment to assess the conditions in which people like, Mathapelo Phathe receive healthcare and conditions in which nurses work on. MEC Masike was not impressed by conditions in some of clinics visited and demanded that they be attended immediately.
Speaking after the inspection of new Buxton Clinic, Masike said new clinics will help the department to achieve the goal of improving the health profile of the nation by rendering basic primary healthcare services. The services include treating communicable and none communicable diseases, emergency cases, family planning, Tuberculosis, maternal and child health, minor ailments and chronic illnesses among others.
MEC Masike said the department in its analysis of the province’s geographical settings recognised the Dr Ruth Mompati District Municipality as the most rural and under serviced of all four districts. “As we prepare for the National Health Insurance (NHI), it is therefore important that we improve the state of our facilities like clinics, community health centers and hospitals especially in rural areas. We want people to fully benefit from NHI by the time it is rolled out to all the districts” he said.
Seventeen clinics and seven Community Health Centres have been completed since 2009. Ten primary health care facilities have also received essential upgrade from 2011 to 2013; and extensive health infrastructure programme was fully underway in a number of the facilities including Sekhing Community health center, Lekgopung, Madibe A Makgabane and Tweelingspan clinics.
Facilities maintenance audit which was done under the hospital revitalisation projects at Moses Kotane, Joe Morolong Memorial (Vryburg), Swartruggens and Brits hospitals confirms that the province spent over R1,2 billion on these completed facilities. The Bophelong Psychiatric Hospital which was under construction in Mahikeng would also cost the province over R482 million to improve mental health outcomes.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Cell: 082 929 9958
E-mail: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
