ROLE OF CLINICS IN HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY

A clinic is a medical center for outpatients attached to a hospital or forming part of it. Public health agencies operate local clinics that provide free or reduced-cost medical services to individuals, especially infants and children, pregnant and nursing women, migrant farm workers, and people with drug abuse problems, physical disabilities, and other conditions. These clinics provide prenatal and pediatric care for children who have no regular access to medical care. The clinics may provide visiting nurse and other home health care services for the elderly. Public health clinics may also offer rehabilitation programs for people addicted to drugs or alcohol.

In developing countries and in rural and low-income communities in industrialized nations, public health clinics may be the only source of routine medical care. Members of the community go to clinics for regular exams or for treatment when they are injured or ill, as well as for immunizations and other public health services. Clinics may provide free or low-cost medications, such as antibiotics or birth control pills. Often, community members may obtain counseling on health matters, such as proper infant nutrition, safe food handling procedures, or family planning advice.

Public health clinics routinely screen patients for a number of infectious diseases, such as sexually transmitted infections, and may provide free treatment if patients test positive. Each clinic tracks the incidence of certain communicable diseases in its area, and reports this information to national and international public health offices. Public health clinics may also track down past sexual partners of STI patients, inform them that they may have been infected with an STI, and urge them to come in to a clinic to be tested. The successful treatment of STIs though is one of the major challenges for most urban and rural clinics due to self-stigmatization and lack of cooperation from the other partner involved.

The developmental plan by our promise fulfilling government to construct 650 clinics is going to tremendously improve our primary health service delivery. This is evident by the roles that the clinics play in provision of health care to outpatients and patients on other medical ailments that need clinical consultation on periodic basis. However, the non-availability of standardized medical equipment and medicines should also be redressed as the current existing shortages of such essential items may also be reflected in the new clinics to be constructed.

The challenge of lack of highly motivated health staffs is an issue that does not need to be over emphasized or politicized but it makes perfect common sense that an increase in number of health centres translates in an increased demand for health staffs or frontline health workers like Nurses, clinical officers, certified midwives and counselors. Considering the fact that we now have a listening government that is ready to deliver on constructive prepositions, we are quite hopeful that they will come on board and sponsor health worker trainings including the bridging courses of Enrolled Nursing to Registered Nursing as well as those studying for higher qualifications as it would help improve on efficiency of service delivery.

This will go a long way in averting the attrition of health workers and consequent perpetual staff shortages. Consequently, the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be achieved or we won't be miles away from attaining the maternal and child health MDGs amongst other developmental national goals. The success of such magnitude will bring positive development in different sectors of our economy as a healthy people translate into a healthy nation. Our appeal to fellow frontline health workers is for us to continue being patriotic Zambians and work for this country with one heart as our cause for duty entails and government will do its part to make sure our conditions are well revised so that we work with smiles not frowns or tantrums. We believe we have the power to face lift our dented image to be professionals with value but a direct government policy to improve the perpetual constraints in our line of practice should be taken seriously as a sign of good faith in seeing to it that our conscious allows us to practice in an environment friendly to human health or biochemistry.

As a nation at large we are filled with awe and ululation by the proposed construction of these clinics but a smile will only be registered on our faces when we see the completion of such projects and furnishing of the clinics with the needed resources. A country with good medical services increases the life span of its citizen and makes their life bearable to enjoy the fruits of a meaningful life.

JONES. H. MUNANG'ANDU (author)
Motivational speaker, health commentator &
Health practitioner
Mobile; 0966565670/0979362525

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