One of the principles which, right from the
beginning, has inspired the activity of medical assistance was the idea to aid
the sick directly in their homes and not
merely wait for them to come to the hospital.
Following this line of thought parallel to
that of the hospital, which represents the center of the medical activity
itself, a secondary activity has been developed whereby the sick can be reached
in their villages.
The mobile clinic, the mobile oculist
surgery and the service of home assistance comply with this need.
Operating in this way give us the
opportunity of getting to know, individually, those who are more needy than
others and it so permits us to distribute help more extensively and directly.
The hospital
Which works as a day hospital is equipped
with:- a consulting room for X-rays, a prenatal scanner, an analysis
laboratory, a dentist surgery and a pharmacy.
An ambulance can go to the neighbouring villages to pick up the sick and
bring them to our hospital or to other structures in those cases where surgery
is necessary.
A doctor, a clinic officer, a laboratory
technician and three nurses are the full time staff, whereas a dentist, a
radiologist and an scanner technician work alternate days.
During the year 2005 the hospital assisted
3,900 people and each one of them underwent more than one visit.
The development strategy of the hospital
does not foresee its expansion in order to have in-patients but is more
oriented towards its expansion as a multifunctional first aid station. To be able to do this it is essential that
the analysis laboratory is expanded and that a more efficient prenatal scanner
apparatus is available.
The mobile clinic
This service makes it possible to send, to
those villages which have no sanitary structures whatsoever, nurses who provide
pre and post natal assistance and care for children in the age range of 0 to 5
years of age. Not only do the nurses
look after the mothers and their children but they also visit the sick.
Furthermore they offer an educational
activity providing advice about child care in general and on family
planning.
Thirteen village are included
in the circuit involving 60,000 people and at a rough estimate this totals, in
a year, about 15,000 cases of assistance
in one way or another.
The monthly cost
of this service is equal to Euro
1,140. The future expansion of this activity foresees
the presence of an expert in nutrition who will teach how to better the
children's diet.
Home care
The medical staff, accompanied by
volunteers who follow courses in the hospital, travel to the villages included
in the complex in order to visit the sick who are unable to move. The task of the 58 volunteers is to ensure
that the medicine, left by the doctor, is taken properly and to look after the
needs of the sick providing, where necessary, food.
The aim of the personnel
who do home care is also to better their knowledge on topics such as
sero-positiveness to HIV or about AIDS itself so that they can physically
assist the ill or offer them psychological support.
Malaria is, even today, responsible for the
majority of deaths in children under 5 years old. In January 2007 a project was launched, in
the villages included in the complex, whereby mosquito nets were distributed and
a disinfection programme undertaken.
Courses on how to protect against Malaria will be held.
