Miss-Delectable
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Daily Dispatch Online
BUFFALO City Municipality has appointed sign language interpreters to work in clinics around the city as part of a plan to make them deaf friendly.
BCM general manager for public participation and special projects, Thabo Matiwane, said the project emanated from a 2005 agreement with the Centre for Municipal Research and Advice (CMRA) to implement a decentralised response to HIV/Aids.
Three clinics, John Dube in Scenery Park, Cambridge Clinic and Berlin Clinic have been chosen as pilot sites .
According to Matiwane, sign language interpreters would be on- call at all the three clinics.
Visually impaired Member of Parliament Hendrietta Bogopane- Zulu said the project is aimed at responding to challenges facing disabled people in accessing information about HIV/Aids.
B esides making the clinics more accessible to deaf patients, improvements will also be made to make them more wheelchair- friendly.
These improvements include adding railings in toilets, lowering reception desks, constructing ramps, purchasing adjustable beds and constructing and improving toilets for the disabled.
One of the rooms at the Cambridge Clinic will be converted into a voluntary counselling and testing centre for deaf people.
Bogopane-Zulu said work had already started at John Dube with the aim of turning it into a “centre of excellence”.
The new and improved John Dube Clinic is scheduled to be launched at the end of this month or early in July.
The other two clinics are to be launched later this year.
According to Matiwane, they have been confronted with a list of challenges which could negatively impact on the success of the project.
These included health workers and nurses not working together, staff shortages at clinics, behavioural problems towards people with disabilities, as well as a lack of training of health workers and work ethics.
Some of the proposed corrective measures include placing health workers under the supervision of the clinic sister, getting more nurses and giving health workers proper training.
BUFFALO City Municipality has appointed sign language interpreters to work in clinics around the city as part of a plan to make them deaf friendly.
BCM general manager for public participation and special projects, Thabo Matiwane, said the project emanated from a 2005 agreement with the Centre for Municipal Research and Advice (CMRA) to implement a decentralised response to HIV/Aids.
Three clinics, John Dube in Scenery Park, Cambridge Clinic and Berlin Clinic have been chosen as pilot sites .
According to Matiwane, sign language interpreters would be on- call at all the three clinics.
Visually impaired Member of Parliament Hendrietta Bogopane- Zulu said the project is aimed at responding to challenges facing disabled people in accessing information about HIV/Aids.
B esides making the clinics more accessible to deaf patients, improvements will also be made to make them more wheelchair- friendly.
These improvements include adding railings in toilets, lowering reception desks, constructing ramps, purchasing adjustable beds and constructing and improving toilets for the disabled.
One of the rooms at the Cambridge Clinic will be converted into a voluntary counselling and testing centre for deaf people.
Bogopane-Zulu said work had already started at John Dube with the aim of turning it into a “centre of excellence”.
The new and improved John Dube Clinic is scheduled to be launched at the end of this month or early in July.
The other two clinics are to be launched later this year.
According to Matiwane, they have been confronted with a list of challenges which could negatively impact on the success of the project.
These included health workers and nurses not working together, staff shortages at clinics, behavioural problems towards people with disabilities, as well as a lack of training of health workers and work ethics.
Some of the proposed corrective measures include placing health workers under the supervision of the clinic sister, getting more nurses and giving health workers proper training.