Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has unveiled the first batch of revamped state-of-the-art mobile clinics in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday.
Seventeen of the refurbished clinics were unveiled at Grey's Hospital, with five more expected to be delivered at a later stage.
The department has spent more than R100 million to improve its fleet, including the revamp of mobile clinics.
Currently, there are around 170 mobile clinic vehicles, most of which were designed in the '80s. These clinics posed some challenges as staff were accommodated in the same area that patients were examined.
Many of the old vehicles could not travel in some rural areas where the terrain proved difficult.
The revamped clinics will offer improved services, as well as enough space for examinations while providing privacy.
"This intervention is part of our plans to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Insurance and towards our goal of a long and healthy life for our people. Through these clinics, we will be able to improve on cancer and TB screenings in areas where we are unable to offer a fixed clinic due to population size," Dlomo said.
The new vehicles will provide a comprehensive package of primary healthcare services, especially for the school health programme and for the most rural communities.
They are fitted with electrical power and water sources, are ergonomically designed and environmentally friendly.
In addition, they have low fuel consumption, can manoeuvre the provincial terrain with ease and will be able to accommodate two patients at a time for examination.
"In KwaZulu-Natal, we are making a bold statement that we are making primary healthcare a reality. Primary healthcare is the mainstay of healthcare delivery and it is befitting that when we decide to replace our fleet, after five years of no expenditure in this area, we invest in improving the primary healthcare," Dlomo added.
It was also revealed that the MEC will announce the two districts in KZN where the NHI will be piloted on 21 March.
