vill.
Health Facilities
Clinics
1)
Present Status of Facilities/Equipment/Supplies
As part of the “health resources" survey at each clinic visited, an
inventory of equipment, facilities, and supplies was done.
(Detailed results
are available from the Loma Linda University team - they are not included
here due to lack of space.
Appendix G).
a.
Copies of the forms used for the inventory are in
Briefly the present status is as follows:
All clinic facilities need some repair of windows, doors, roofs, etc.
Some may need total replacement.
Very
few
havd
functional
toilets,
washing
facilities,
or
water
catchments.
Not one functional refrigerator was found though many clinics were
issued one.
Many had never worked because the health assistants did not
know how to light the kerosene wick element or insert it (most wick
elements were damaged).
Fuel
was often
not
available even
if the
refrigerator had worked.
Most of the refigerators were too large and
complex for existing needs.
Very few of the beds, mattresses, and examining tables were in good
condition
(rarely
do
the
examining
tables
have
stirrups
such
as
for
deliveries).
Common
health
assessment
tools
and
stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs,
equipment
scales,
otoscopes,
etc., were either never
issued or non-functional.
Sheets, towels, and other linen were largely non-existent.
The medicine and medical supply situation varies tremendously with the
clinic though the most common situation is the following:
1)
No family planning supplies (intrauterine devices, condoms, pills,
etc.) were found anywhere.
2)
Expendable
supplies
such
as
splints,
bandages,
adhesive tape,
cotton, bandaids are very seldom in enough supply.
3)
Often clinics are over-stocked in some items i.e.
solution
and
yet
few
have
syringes
intravenous
(particularly
diabetic
syringes)
4)
Many medicines
were
out-of-date
or
unused,
often
health assistant did not know what they were for.
because
the