Health MEC visits SHAWCO clinic in Tambo Village

SHAWCO Health's paediatric clinic in Tambo Village, Manenberg, recently played host to the Western Cape MEC for Health Dr Nomafrench Mbombo.

Mbombo, who spent time at the clinic on Saturday 22 August, interacted with the student volunteers at the clinic and learnt more about the impact of their work on the local community.

SHAWCO runs the paediatric clinic at Tambo Village once a month to provide a range of primary healthcare services for children and to promote general health, by educating caregivers and ensuring ongoing patient monitoring. These services include general medicine, dietetics, occupational therapy, speech therapy and audiology.

Tambo Village falls between catchment areas of the Department of Health, which means that patients have to travel great distances to access basic health services at the nearest clinic. After a request for assistance from the community, the SHAWCO clinic was established in 2013, helping bring essential healthcare services within reach of the community and the clinic is well attended. As with all SHAWCO clinics, it is staffed by medical students supervised by volunteer qualified doctors with the assistance of a licensed dispensing nurse.

Priyanka Naidu, president of SHAWCO Health said: "We were very proud (on 22 August) to demonstrate the tremendous work being done by our volunteers at the Tambo Village paediatric clinic. Dr Mbombo's wide experience and commitment to primary health care for groups at risk meant that she could appreciate the impact of the clinic. Her informed views and interest was inspiring for the student volunteers."

Western Cape MEC for health Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, with her former student, Sister Amadolo, who is a dispensing nurse at the SHAWCO paediatric clinic.

SHAWCO Health has about 800 volunteers from the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences who reach out to around 4 000 people in under-served communities across the Western Cape. This work is done with significant funding from GrandWest. These no-pay clinics often serve as the only port of call for the sick and injured who struggle to access primary health care services or preventative initiatives.

Said Heidi Edson, group socio-economic development manager for GrandWest: "GrandWest CSI is proud to partner with SHAWCO Health?s clinics, which have become an integral part of the communities they serve.

"The Tambo Village paediatric clinic is a prime example of the positive and empowering impact of qualified and caring health care intervention in underserved communities. The students who staff the clinic monthly must be commended for the invaluable service they provide."