City tries to lure men to clinics
ALEXANDRA – The City of Johannesburg has launched a desperate bid to lure men to use its clinics.
The City of Johannesburg is puzzled by the non-utilisation of clinics by men, which is why it has set aside a special day dedicated to them.
By so doing, it hopes to be able to attract more and more men to utilise the clinics in the same manner in which women do.
The City, in partnership with Anova Health4Men Project, has decided to establish a wing at its clinics which will be dedicated to men, with only male nurses.
Speaking at the launch of the Men’s Clinic wing at the 8th Avenue Clinic in Alexandra, Vusi Mazibuko, director of Region E’s Environmental Health Department said, “We hope by [opening the wing], we will be able to attract more men to our health facilities in the future. If you go the clinics on any given day, you can count the men there on your fingers.
“We’re still puzzled to why men don’t go to clinics as much as women do. One of the reasons that sprang to mind was a fear of being attended to by female nurses.
“These clinics will be manned by male nurses but if the patients say they’re comfortable at being attended by female nurses, then they will be attended to by female nurses,” Mazibuko said.
He pointed out that most men shy away from attending clinics because of the phobia of what they call ‘ukubonelwa’ (fear of female nurses attending to them).
The other reason attributed to non-attendance of men at clinics was the notion that men are supposed to be strong and put on a brave face, even in adversity. “We grew up being told that men must be strong and that tigers don’t cry,” Mazibuko said.
He said the clinics and its staff were not there to judge, but to provide a service to the men as well. “Let [men] stop this thing about not going to the clinics because ‘bazongibonela’ [they don’t want female nurses to see their private parts].”
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