‘It’s about convenience for the patient’

Scores of parents and children descended on Hout Bay’s Sentinel Primary School on Saturday, 14 September as the University of Cape Town’s Students’ Health and Welfare Centres Organisation (SHAWCO) and several partners set up their vaunted family day clinic.

The family day clinic involves a day of healthcare checks for people who present themselves at the site; and with the latest one being the biggest of the year, it was well supported by Hout Bay Rotary and the University of the Western Cape, to name a few.

For SHAWCO family day, people arrive on the day and once they’ve registered and had their vitals checked, they are ushered to the relevant spot on the primary school’s premises where they receive the assistance required. To occupy restless children, face painting, drawing and storybook reading are offered while they wait, while on this occasion a breakdancing lesson took place to release some physical energy and keep spirits high.

For a change, Cape Town’s weather was perfect on Saturday, which was underlined by the number of people who showed up as more than 120 volunteers stood ready to assist.

Lesedi Chiloane, SHAWCO Health vice-president, said that on the day, health and rehabilitation practitioners such as speech therapists, audiologists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists were on site. “We’ve had a good relationship with the Hout Bay community for years, and they rely on these clinics for basic health services. We come a couple of times during the year, but this is our biggest one for 2024 where we have all services together in one place,” said Chiloane.

“A lot of the patients are hardworking individuals who would otherwise not have time to see healthcare practitioners because of work schedules, for example. Having all the services in one place is the ideal way of dispensing healthcare, because should you pick up an issue, you can easily refer them to the relevant person who is on site. It’s about convenience for the patient.”

Accountability measure

Chiloane added that to volunteer with SHAWCO, one does not need to be a health practitioner or a Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) student. Contacting SHAWCO is enough to start a conversation and to offer your service.

Given the frequency of the clinics, there are some key observations made by students. Chiloane admits they find that women show up more than men: “We know they work extremely hard in our society, and some might not have a health complaint, but because the clinic is available, they come in for reassurances; and I am glad that SHAWCO offers an opportunity for them to do these checks.”

“If I know that I can bring joy to a student who impacts the community positively, my goal has been achieved.”

Chiloane added: “Just being here makes the day a success. In reflecting, we always check to see what went well and what didn’t. Were we on time, did we have enough volunteers, could we have seen more patients? That’s our accountability measure, so that we can make the next one even better.”

Also present on the day was Palesa Magugu, who is a social worker and student coordinator for SHAWCO. She said she lives by Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” She also supervises social work students at UCT.

For Magugu, a day like the family day clinic is about bringing “light and joy to communities”. She said, “This role takes a lot of passion … If I know that I can bring joy to a student who impacts the community positively, my goal has been achieved.

“My observation is that we are [meeting] a need in the community, and the resources we provide are an absolute [necessity]; and with the collaboration with other health partners, we are able to provide the necessary services. We absolutely love serving people because we are about them, and that seals it for us.”

In total, the clinic registered 267 people from the Hout Bay community. SHAWCO Health was able to offer 169 services across their disciplines.