From the beginning of February, Alexandra East Bank Clinic and Sinqobile Clinic will also offer extended hours, bringing the total number of the City of Johannesburg’s clinics with extended hours to 13.
MMC for Health and Social Development, Dr Mpho Phalatse said she is excited about the continued rollout of the extended hours of service and, adding that access to healthcare is a basic human right. Currently, the City of Johannesburg has 81 clinics servicing different communities.
“Mayor [Herman] Mashaba’s programme to extend hours of service in our clinics is a vital shift in how the City [of Johannesburg] offers health care services. The rollout will continue in stages,” Phalatse said.
Many residents, who often had to choose between going to work and going to the clinic, will now have a more manageable option.
“The rollout of this programme has given hope to our residents that a day will come when we will throw away the keys to all our clinics. The plan is to bring this number to 26 by the end of the 2018/19 financial year.”
Phalatse said even though there were budget constraints, her department was working hard to finance the extension of service hours.
In line with the integrated extended services package at the clinics, social workers will focus on rendering social development services and referrals, she said.
“We noticed that our residents don’t always know what programmes are available to address their socio-economic needs. The social workers are there to conduct assessments of the needs of our patients and either attend to them or provide referrals accordingly.”
The project has also seen concrete results. Princess Clinic and Freedom Park Clinic are open until 10pm on weekdays and have seen over 30 per cent more patients in the last six months.
The City said the number of patients who visit the clinics during weekends and on public holidays is increasing steadily. Waiting times are declining, and most patients are satisfied with the services.
“Since July to December last year, about 50 000 patients were assisted at clinics after hours, including weekends and public holidays and the number is [still] rising.”
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