Clinic improves the health of North West community

A Rustenburg clinic built by a private company has improved the quality of life of the residents of five villages. 

The Bethanie Clinic, which was recently handed over to the North West Department of Health by mining company Glencore, offers new services to the 3 500 people that visit it monthly, including dental treatment, daily maternity services and emergency oxygen supply for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients and those with breathing-related illnesses.

Community member Mis- heck Sono says that the clinic, which operates from 7am till 7pm, is a great improvement for the community, especially when compared to the clinic that the community was using previously.

Full-time staff include 11 professional nurses, two assistant nurses and another two registered nurses. Doctors visit the clinic every Monday and Friday. The clinic also has a pharmacy, a 21 000-litre water reservoir and an emergency generator.

“The new clinic runs very smoothly because it has enough staff and equipment. When you go there to fetch chronic medication, you no longer spend the whole day only to be turned away at 4pm,” Sono says.

The clinic is equipped with the latest pregnancy-support facilities in the form of a neo-natal ward – which has two delivery rooms; a four-bed antenatal room – where check-ups are done on pregnant women; and a six-bed room for those who have already given birth.

“In the old clinic, pregnant women would only be seen on Mondays and Fridays. If you went into labour between then, you had to make the 50km drive to Brits Hospital,” says Sono. 

The clinic is further equipped with isolation rooms and protective personal equipment (PPEs). Clinical manager Jennifer Molaakgosi says their employees are trained to handle suspected COVID-19 infections. 

Glencore Ferroalloys CEO Japie Fullard says the R30 million clinic will play a crucial role in helping to fight the pandemic in the area. “It is important to us that members of the community have hope and dignity during these trying times,” says Fullard.