Official Opening of Knysna Community Day Centre

The Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, officially opened the new Knysna Community Day Centre (CDC) in Witlokasie today 15 April 2013.  Construction of the CDC started in June 2011. The 1 344 m² facility cost R37 million to construct and services 3 500 patients per month. Patients are mostly from Witlokasie, Concordia and the greater Knysna areas. The CDC consists of three consulting rooms, four doctor’s rooms, an observation and dressing room, a TB and TB-specialist room, a sputum booth, five store rooms, a well-equipped pharmacy with a waiting area for patients, one antenatal room, a family planning room, weighing rooms and a baby room, two chronic rooms, two dentist rooms and one X-ray room.

“Services rendered at the clinic include Primary Health Care, family planning, HIV and TB, ARVs, mental health, dietetic services, counselling, oral health, maternal health, women's health, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The burden of disease for the area is TB/HIV, Chronic Diseases, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission(PMTCT) Rate and New Smear Positive (NSP) cure rate”, said Mr Botha. The above-mentioned services are rendered daily from 7:30 to 16:00 (Monday to Friday) and 7:30 to 18:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to accommodate those patients who work until late. The staff comprises Sr Ntlanga (Operational Manager), one doctor, three clinical nurse practitioners, three professional nurses, one staff nurse, one auxiliary nurse, three counsellors,three TB and HIV tracers, twoadministration clerks, two data clerks and three cleaners. Patients are referred to Knysna Hospital.

Knysna Hospital

Knysna Hospital celebrated its international Mother and Baby-Friendly Initiative (MBFI) accreditation which they have received in November 2012.

The MBFI is a global campaign launched in 1992 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), and is based on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Maternity facilities are assessed using globally established criteria and those that meet all the criteria may be accredited as Baby-Friendly. Mr Botha said: “In South Africa, the MBFI was launched in 1994. St Monica’s Maternity Hospital was the first hospital to be accredited Mother-and-Baby-Friendly. In the province there are 74 health facilities with maternity units – public and private. Of the 74 only 26 have the MBFI accreditation, and 24 of the 26 are public health facilities.”

In the Western Cape Province, MBFI (Child Health) is one of the eight common goals that are set as priority by the Department of Health. It is also a measure of the quality of care. The MBFI supports the right of mothers to choose how to feed and care for their babies. Health-care professionals have the responsibility to care, encourage best practice and to ensure that parents are given appropriate, accurate and unbiased information to allow them to make fully informed choices.

The Knysna Hospital Maternity Unit has an average of 140 births per month.