'The connected clinic' - an update from Embo

‘I believe this will also somehow limit chances of the spread of covid-19 because there will be no need for our driver to meet in person relevant person in collecting laboratory results.’ - Pastor Leonard Gcabashe

The Embo Healthcare Clinic under construction

In June 2020, we sent a Big Box out to the Embo Healthcare Clinic in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. This healthcare clinic, supported by Medic Assist International, caters for 30,000 people in a community that is suffering from high - and rising - rates of HIV/AIDS, as well as a recent surge in tuberculosis. Now, the clinic is also dealing with coronavirus patients.

Jangala was approached by Medic Assist International and Jonesthefone Consulting to provide internet for the clinic, whose connectivity at the time consisted of a single dongle connected to a laptop. Since the clinic does not have a laboratory, all routine blood samples needed to be delivered via a driver to the local state hospital in Durban which has the necessary equipment for testing, and returned the same way. Now, with reliable Wi-Fi, the results will be emailed to the Embo Healthcare Clinic, saving time so that patients can start treatment sooner. 

We sent out a Big Box and with the help of onsite support, expanded the network to cover the healthcare clinic, as well as a care home and a nearby church, which serves as an important hub within the community. Meanwhile, Jonesthefone Consulting (in cooperation with Against Breast Cancer) also provided recycled smartphones for the healthcare staff in Embo to use at work. 

Staff with their devices

In the first week, over 100 devices connected to the Wi-Fi.

Pastor Leonard Gcabashe, who was key in bringing the partnership together, explained how staff are using the Wi-Fi to show the local community news about the pandemic and educational programmes about common health problems. According to Pastor Leonard, ‘Sister Chauka said she could read from people’s faces that they are really thankful for the information that they receive from the screen.’

‘She informed me that she had advised Victoria to set programmes in Zulu so that all attendees will understand. Yesterday on my visitation they were listening to the statistic of Covid-19 in our country and some awareness of the pandemic.’ 

The improved quality of internet means that the clinic is now able to establish the online systems needed to effectively communicate with their mother hospital regarding patients’ test results. ‘We also can’t wait to start online systems of exchange of communications with our mother clinic likewise with [the] lab to improve our service.’

And the benefits of community WiFi are already extending beyond the initial objectives in healthcare. Young students from the community have begun accessing the Wi-Fi for their studies in the evenings and weekends. In fact, the Wi-Fi is totally public on weekends and the clinic has made it clear that ‘anyone wanting information’ can access it. 

Big Box has been housed in an outdoor area so that the connectivity can reach as far as possible, and is withstanding the harsh conditions: ‘[The] Wi-Fi is doing so well...yesterday it was windy, thunder at night and our clinic is built on the hill, and however I did not notice any problem [with the WiFi] at all.’

These pictures below show educational videos being shown to patients, a caregiver accessing the Wi-Fi, young students hard at work, youth leader and caregiver Maye preparing for a youth meeting - and finally, Big Box.