Mobile HIV test and treatment clinic hits the road
The testing process varies according to each client’s needs and can take as little as five to 10 minutes, with results being shared via SMS.
Bruce Forgrieve, chairperson of Shout-It-Now, Charge d’Affaires, head of staff at the US Embassy, and Dr Ygar Pillay, deputy director-general at the Department of Health, at the official launch of the HIV test and treat vehicles.
With the launch of a new six-month pilot project involving a mobile clinic, the fight against HIV/Aids took a huge leap forward.
Shout-It-Now’s mobile test and treatment clinic hit the road in Ekurhuleni on July 12, making available to residents a semi-automated mobile HIV testing and immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation clinic, Tembisan reports.
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Given increased focus in South Africa on identifying those people living with HIV who remain undiagnosed, and on improving the uptake of ART, Shout-it-Now has designed a new community-based HIV screening and immediate ART initiation service.
The adoption of the UNAids targets to end Aids by 2020, has placed an impetus on public health stakeholders to focus on identifying 90 percent of people living with HIV, place 90 percent of those on sustained ART and ensure that 90 percent of those on ART achieves and maintains viral suppression.
The new mobile test and treatment clinic will see Shout-It-Now offering free HIV testing, counselling and treatment from a pair of customised vehicles, giving the programme increased flexibility to target high-risk patients and offer those with HIV immediate and seamless access to treatment.
The mobile clinic consists of two trucks working in tandem: one dedicated to HIV testing and a second to ART initiation.
Shout-It-Now will make use of public health data and mapping tools to identify neighbourhoods and populations in greatest need of the mobile clinic’s services.
The testing locations will primarily be areas that are currently underserved by public health clinics, with the service designed to see up to 250 clients a day with an HIV incidence of 10-15 percent.
Dr Ygar Pillay, deputy director-general department of health, Charge d’Affaires, head of staff US Embassy, and Bruce Forgrieve, chairman Shout-It-Now, at the official launch of the HIV test and treat vehicles.
The set-up time for the mobile clinic is 15 minutes. The testing van features seven touchscreen kiosks with the latest audiovisual interface and needs only three healthcare advisers (HCAs) to perform all the functions. The instructional audiovisual aids are available in Zulu, English and Sepedi.
The testing process varies according to each client’s needs and can take as little as 5-10 minutes, with results being shared via SMS. Those who test positive on their initial HIV test proceed to the ART van. Here a qualified doctor or a nurse-initiated management of antiretroviral therapy (NIMART) nurse and an HCA provide confirmatory testing, assess whether the client is eligible for immediate ART initiation and if so, issue a one-month supply of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
“HIV and Aids remain the biggest social issue facing South Africa. As a stakeholder, we take our role in ensuring the national 90-90-90 targets are met seriously,” said Bruce Forgrieve, chairperson of Shout-It-Now.
Shout-It-Now will also pilot a clubhouse concept adjacent to a partner government clinic to improve clinic linkage and retention rates. The clubhouse will be the first port of call for Shout-It-Now clients who, after their first month of ART, need integration into the government clinic system.
Shout-It-Now plans to scale-up the mobile clinic approach in phase two to include an adherence programme, providing medication to clients monthly, further relieving the overburdened government clinic system.
