The Alexandra Health Centre and University Clinic is a full-service primary healthcare facility, including 24-hour casualty and maternity care. The clinic supports an under-served community of over 600 000 persons, located in Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg.

The Phatsima Khanya HIV clinic at Alexandra Clinic has been accredited as a CCMT site, and as such, antiretroviral drugs and pathology costs are now covered by government. Both adult and paediatric patients receive HIV care at Phatsima Khanya.

Due to an increase in the numbers, partly due to the transfer of patients from Rea’phela, the clinic required extensive expansion in 2007. Right to Care supported the erection of a prefabricated clinic building. The increased space has allowed the clinic to continue operating the dedicated adult and paediatric ART clinics. To increase the site capacity, in 2007, Right to Care seconded many new staff members to the site.

TherapyEdge, the disease management database used by Right to Care, has been introduced at the site. This greatly improved the efficiency of patient care and management in the clinic.

Without well-developed guidelines on prevention of mother to child transmission, new paediatric HIV infections are still occurring. The paediatric HIV Clinic at Phatsima Khanya is a focused paediatric clinic supported by Right to Care, and is a training centre for the expanding paediatric services within the Right to Care network. The clinic offers comprehensive HIV care for children aged four weeks to 15 years, including HIV testing, paediatric HIV medical care, provision of antiretroviral treatment, and ongoing psychosocial counselling. Their clinical results have been excellent with a low lost-to-follow-up and non-adherence rate. Patient numbers have increased significantly: currently over 400 HIV-positive paediatric patients, of whom over 300 are on antiretroviral treatment.

The demand for excellent paediatric services is increasing, requiring the addition of further clinicians to the team. The team grew in the past year and, besides the paediatric doctor and primary healthcare nurse, it now has a dedicated paediatric counsellor.

The Bright Lights Feeding Scheme has been developed as a social support programme for the patients. The feeding scheme, supported by external fundraising, provides patients with a food parcel when they visit the clinic. Apart from providing nutrition, the food parcels encourage attendance and promote a caring environment. With donations received from the public, the staff members are often able to give the children second-hand clothing and toys. The clinic has also managed to obtain sponsorship for some of the children’s schooling and educational requirements.

An example of one of the many children that have received care and support from the clinic is eight-year old Jabulani. When Jabulani first attended the clinic in 2006 he was unwell and had a low CD4 count. Apart from being HIV-positive, Jabulani is also deaf and mute. He is a paternal orphan and his mother was not coping with his illness.

The doctors managed to get him onto antiretroviral therapy quickly and his response has been excellent. Through sponsorships, the clinic has been able to fund his schooling at a school for the deaf. He has also been provided with school uniforms, stationery, and monthly food parcels. The improvement in his health has meant that he is able to attend school regularly. He is now a happy boy, with many friends.

Updated: 11 August 2010