According to AIDS Healthcare Foundation Africa Bureau chief, Dr Penninah Iutung, patients at the facility will now be transferred to government health facilities where they are set to benefit from a more comprehensive package of health services beyond HIV/AIDS, such as treatment for sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, diabetes and hypertension as well as primary care services and antenatal care.
She said the transition would ensure full government support and full patient health-care benefits for the over 14 000 patients who have accessed HIV services at the clinic since its inception in 2001.
Iutung explained that while transitioning means that Ithembalabantu Clinic will close its doors, the patients will continue their care and have the opportunity to receive additional, comprehensive services at government clinics of their choice.
The standalone Ithembalabantu Clinic, which has been in operation over the past 20 years, was run by AHF in partnership with the Department of Health in South Africa, through the Provincial Government in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We will ensure our patients are transferred in a smooth, organized, systematic manner to conveniently located government clinics to benefit from a broader healthcare offering. We remain committed to supporting the HIV/AIDS response in South Africa through our other provincial government clinics that we support,” Iutung said.
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She added that medical staff at the Ithembalabantu Clinic will also receive support and will not be left behind.
“We are working closely with staff, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and labour unions to ensure that employees are treated fairly and in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act,” she said.
Iutung said the AHF will continue to lend its support to the government clinics supported by the foundation in a bid to guarantee comprehensive and strategic models of service delivery as well as better standards of care.
AHF currently supports 20 other facilities within the eThekwini district, through direct service delivery at the supported sites, training and capacity building, mentoring, monitoring and evaluation, and provision of other resources such as equipment and infrastructure.
In addition to the KwaZulu-Natal province, AHF also has a presence in Eastern Cape and Gauteng.
Source: IOL