The opening of the Crosby down-referral clinic

Johannesburg, 26 February 2008—HIV-positive patients receiving antiretroviral treatment at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg can look forward to greatly reduced time spent queuing at hospitals.

The first clinic in a “down-referral” programme, a cooperative venture between the Johannesburg City Council and non-profit organisation Right to Care, has been opened. The Crosby Clinic is 2km from Helen Joseph Hospital, west of Johannesburg centre. Patients receiving ARV medicines and who are stable are being referred to the Crosby clinic from Helen Joseph’s HIV-treatment wing, Thembu Lethu Clinic.

State-owned hospitals and clinics have been struggling to cope with huge patient loads. Patients visiting HIV-treatment hospitals, for checkups or to collect antiretroviral medicines, typically take two to three hours to complete a visit, and have to do this eight times a year.

This is set to change, with the provincial down-referral programme, which aims to take patients receiving HIV treatment at large hospitals and to redirect patients them to satellite clinics. Waiting times are these clinics may be as little as half an hour.

The Johannesburg City Council and Right to Care have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see these down-referral sites rolled out across the council’s patient catchment area. Right to Care hopes to set up another three such clinics by the end of the year.

“This development is vital if we are going to reach the target of 2-million patients on treatment by 2011,” says Dr Dennis Rubel, head of down-referral projects at Right to Care. Rubel’s reference is to the government’s strategic plan, announced in 2007, part of which was the 2-million enrolment target.

Says Rubel, “Practical steps such as these are critical if we are gong to reach our target.”

The memorandum of understanding was signed at Crosby Clinic located in the suburb of that name, 2km from the Helen Joseph Hospital, a flagship of the government-supported rollout of antiretroviral treatment. Through funding from Right to Care, part of the Crosby clinic was refurbished and equipped for handling clinic visits by HIV patients. The organisation is also funding the salaries of three staff members at the clinic (two nurses and a counsellor).