Health

Field-Marsham Medical Clinic at Kenya Fluorspar:

The medical centre is a company managed private health facility equivalent to level 3 (Health centre level) fully registered with Medical Practitioners, Dentist Board, Pharmacy and Poisons Board, providing healthcare services to the company employees and the community residing within the valley at subsidized charges ranging from drug cost, treatment to cost of other services.

The following services are available at the facility;
Outpatient, Minor theatre, Laboratory, pharmacy, Inpatient, Maternity, Mother Child welfare clinics, Family planning, Comprehensive care services, outreach services within the valley and its environs and Referral services. Currently initiated chronic diseases screening programmes (diabetes/hypertension/risk factors management), musculoskeletal exercises training/medicine, eye screening with reading glasses prescription in partnership with Medcan clinic – Toronto Canada.

The facility is also served by well dedicated staff – 4 clinical officers, 4 nurses, pharmaceutical technologist, laboratory technologist, health records and information officer, 3 support staff.

OUTPATIENT SERVICES

Outpatient services have increased its capacity since commissioning of new building in 2012, currently serving between 20-50 patients every day.
The majority of our clients being from the community and the company employees with their beneficiaries at a ratio of 60:40
The facility has two consultation rooms well equipped with diagnostic tools and emergency items.There is an adequate compliment of medical staff ranging from clinical officer, nurses, pharmaceutical technologist, laboratory technologist, health records and information officer and various support staff.

Compliance with international standards (WHO) on emergency diseases management together with continuous training from within and partners – Medcan clinic, Toronto Canada, has shaped the facility speedy response to emergencies and general ailment management.
The staff members in the department recognize the need to treat patients with utmost respect and professionalism. They go out of their way to ensure that patients are attended to in a timely and effective way before discharge or transfer to inpatient wards or referred for specialized treatment.

Walk in consultation is available 24 hours 7 days 365 days of the year including public holidays.

INPATIENT SERVICES

The facility has a bed capacity of 13 ward beds (3 each –male, female and pediatrics, 2 maternity and 2 private ward). Inpatient services involve admitting between 1-4 patients per day.
There is always a staff covering the night duty. To achieve that quality of care, procedures, policies and standards have been put in place using international bench marks. Regular wards rounds are done to ensure that the care at any time is improved.Ward bed capacity with outstanding facilities and professional health care has made the hospital a top preference in the region. Through continuous on job training, experience and continuous medical education has improved patient management skills reducing hospitals stay. Patient support is enhanced by adjustable beds, adjusted to the patient’s inclination for comfort. Access to a kitchen, washrooms, is also a necessary facility that the hospital has assured its patients.

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ANTENATAL CLINIC

Always done on Tuesdays (Monday and Friday on outreach.)
More than 20 expectant mothers seen per month at the facility and the same in outreach.
This clinic is served by clinical officers and nurses. It caters for expectant parents whereby the mothers and unborn baby’s health is monitored, maintained and optimized to ensure a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery and post delivery period.The mothers are also followed up at the postnatal clinic upon delivery.

CHILD WELFARE CLINIC

Child Welfare Clinic deals with immunization and weight monitoring of children less than 2years.
Average 70-100 children attend the clinic every month with equally more the 100 on outreach programmes. The vaccines are provided by the government for free.

VCT/PITC/DTC CLINIC

These services are integrated in day to day outpatient, inpatient and outreach activities,
More than 50 clients per month are tested for HIV.
The test kits are provided too by the government on quarterly basis through Kemsa.

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TB CLINIC

TB services are integrated with Hiv Clinic and services/ drugs offered for free and supplied by the county government. About 1-5 clients are attended per month, a rare disease in the valley. Sputum for AAFB test is done at the facility provided with a TB laboratory separate from the main laboratory.

FAMILY PLANNING

The services is also available everyday at the facility and also during the outreach programmes,
More than 30 clients receive family planning commodities at the facility, and the same number at the outreach.
The family planning methods provided ranges from oral drugs, injectables and implants/Norplant, depending on patients’ condition or prevalence.

NUTRITION SERVICES

Done everyday especially at the clinics and outreach where much emphasis is put on educating the population on proper diet and lifestyle changes pertaining to meals,
We have at least two children followed up for malnutrition i.e Marasmus, Kwashiorkor or both.

COMPREHENSIVE CARE CLINIC/ HIV CLINIC

Facility also offers comprehensive care services in partnership with AMPATH through the county health department who facilitate the county HIV programmes (supply drugs, writing and learning materials ,lab test CD4, DBS for viral load and frequent mentorship programmes)
The facility has a clinic open daily to serve HIV/AIDS clients.The clinics have 130 clients ever enrolled and more than twenty transferred in from other ARV sites, 56 of them are on Antiretroviral, and Septrin or Dapsone prophylaxis, 20 are on prophylaxis alone and the rest are either transfer out to other facilities, defaulters/lost to follow up or died. Post Exposure Prophylaxis clients-at least 1-2 per month.

We also do yearly Hiv/Aids community voluntary testing and counseling during the world AIDS day celebration on 1st December every year, where it involves giving T-shirts (HIV messages printed) , food stuff to the community e.g. last year 2014 tested 860 persons – 10 of them tested positive.

MATERNITY SERVICES

Maternity services offered at the facility involve referral services in cases of maternity complications. Averages of 10 mothers are delivered every month at the facility. Maternity ward is where pregnant clients requiring labour support services, delivery and those clients suffering from other pregnancy related conditions after 28 weeks of gestation are taken care of. We maintain our standards through continuous unit education programme. We have within and without facilitation on a monthly basis.Staff have a chance to discuss, observe, experience and practice what they have learned.
The delivery rooms have adjustable modern delivery beds that make it easier to assume the correct positions for delivery. We also have modern fetal monitors (Doppler fetoscope) that promote continuous information, when required, of the unborn baby’s heartbeat.
We at the unit encourage our clients’ to room-in (stay with their babies) all the time to facilitate bonding between mother and baby. Early, breastfeeding on demand reduces idleness, irritability, vulnerability and fast recovery from pregnancy effects.

Laboratory Services:

The facility has a fully equipped laboratory with the following equipment;
1. Haematology machine
2. Biochemistry machine
3. Electric microscope
4. ESR kit
5. Haemometer,
6. Glucometer
7. Electric centrifuge
8. Fridge with 24hour power supply.the test ranges from malarial slide (mRDT), typhoid, Complete blood count, biochemistry, blood sugar, H pylori, blood grouping and rhesus factor, VDRL, rheumatic factor among others.

At least 200 patients are tested per month depending with the diagnosis.

PHARMACY AND TREATMENT SERVICES

The pharmacy is managed by the qualified registered pharmaceutical technologist who controls the flow movement of drugs on daily basis from store to dispensing.
The company buys drugs quarterly, basic medications (antimalarials, analgesics, antibiotics, ointments, many more variety, we treat employees with their registered beneficiaries for free and the community at a subsidized rate.

The common ailments are malaria, respiratory tract infection, cut wound, septic wound, dermatitis pneumonia, urinary tract infection, soft tissue injury, dental carries, eye and ear infection and chronic diseases diabetes and hypertension.

REFERRAL SERVICES

We have a fully equipped ambulance, offering services to Eldoret ~75km, Iten ~ 60km or Kabarnet~ 40km referral hospitals at a fee of 2000Kshs per trip.

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OUTREACH SERVICES

The facility offers outreach services to nearby communities at the valley , where we currently have 5 outreach sites , (Simit 20km, Kures 23km, Kapkono 10 km, Kalwal 16km, and Turesia 18km)
We are seeing approximately 70 – 200 patients per visit.
The outreach days are done twice weekly (Mondays and Fridays)
The services offered on outreach are comprehensive healthcare services which includes the following: consultation/ outpatient, drug dispensing, basic laboratory test, antenatal, family planning and child welfare clinics, also screening for visual problems and chronic diseases screening, this may involve referral to the facility as well as other referral sites.There is poor health seeking behaviour in this community, other than other hinderances, therefore extensive Public Health Education via outreach services to schools, markets, barazas (public gathering) would make a huge impact via prevention, early clinical, laboratory, referral and treatment services therefore utilizing the medical centre.

In April of 2015, Medcan joined our outreach team. You can read about it on their blog.

Julius K. Chesire – Clinical Officer In Charge
Field Marsham Medical Centre