Rural doctor of the year reflects on the rutted road to quality healthcare

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Rural doctor of the year reflects on the rutted road to quality healthcare
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Rural doctor of the year reflects on the rutted road to quality healthcare

Dr Bukiwe Spondo recently received the Rural Doctor of the Year award at the Rural Health Conference held in Chintsa in the Eastern Cape.She travels up to 40 kilometres to clinics, where she services patients who cannot reach the hospital due to bad roads.

Since 2007, Spondo and her colleagues have offered a multitude of services at Tafalofefe in the lush but impoverished Centane village. First off, she moved the hospital's ARV clinic from an outbuilding to inside the premises – reducing stigma –"because if patients went into that building on the outside, automatically everyone knew", she says.

At Tafalofefe, the two nearest referral hospitals are Cecilia Makiwane and Frere Provincial in East London, situated an additional 110 kilometres or a 90-minute drive from Butterworth along the N2 highway. Housed in a pale building, Tafalofefe has 160 beds, served by 41 professional nurses and seven doctors – including three community service doctors who joined last year. The additions have increased capacity. For example, emergency Caesareans are now available around the clock.

In motivating for Spondo to receive the Rudasa award, Tafalofefe's CEO, Masizakhe Madlebe, points out that her work days start at 07:00 and only ends when all patients have been seen to, whether at the hospital or at one of the local clinics. In addition, he notes that, over the years, Spondo has mentored youth in the area, including children whose parents succumbed to Aids, and schoolgirls on topics like life goals and contraceptives.

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