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Hospital offers a 'pocket of hope' for those infected with HIV/AIDS
Liz Clarke. The Mercury. 19 February 2003. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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In March free anti-retrovirals will for the first time be offered to patients suffering from HIV/AIDS-related opportunistic diseases at a KwaZulu-Natal hospital.
The patients will be enrolled at the Ithemba Family Care Centre, part of St Mary's Hospital at Mariannhill, near Durban, where they will receive their first dose of life-saving anti-retroviral medication which they will need for life.
In so doing, the hospital becomes part of an emerging network of funded treatment pilot sites concentrating on treatment.
The poor treatment of HIV/AIDS in South Africa is seen as one of the key issues in a country where five million people are infected and about 1 000 deaths occur daily.
The main criterion for admission to the programme is a referral from St Mary's outpatients or antenatal departments. Also, the patient must live in the area, have undergone voluntary counselling and be HIV-positive.
Hospital superintendent Douglas Ross said it was a "significant step" for the hospital and the community it served. "There is so much hopelessness and despair with this disease that to have this pocket of hope on our doorstep is a miracle. We believe that bringing back hope will also stop the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS."
The clinic officially opens its doors on March 1 when the first of 25 patients, to be selected over the next few weeks, will be given the chance of treatment.
Ross said there were plans to increase the number of patients receiving free anti-retrovirals and that there is money in the pipeline from the Bill Clinton Foundation which could see the number rise to about 1 500 over the next two years.
"At the moment we do not have enough money to treat everyone, which means there's only a certain number of places. To be fair, it will be on a first come, first served basis."
However, preference would be given to those whose CD4 (immune system cells) counts were below the critical 200 level.
Among the main aims of the clinic are to improve the quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients, stem the spread of HIV, improve knowledge and awareness about the disease and its mode of transmission.
Included in the centre's new HIV/AIDS services are education and counselling, referrals to other support agencies, primary health care at clinic level and in the community, and the provision of vitamins and antibiotics to prevent infections.
Treatment for Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Infections will also be offered free of charge.
The pilot programme has been sponsored by St Mary's Hospital, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation - Pangea, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Harvard Partners AIDS Research Centre and the Catholic Medical Mission Board. For details, call +27 31 700 5358.
Criteria for treating HIV-positive patients at Ithemba Clinic:
- Anti-retroviral drugs are available and the patient's health condition warrants anti-retroviral treatment
- The patient has had no prior anti-retroviral treatment
- The patient has no active addiction to alcohol or drugs nor clinical depression
- The patient attends all scheduled clinic appointments reliably and agrees to take antibiotics daily to prevent lung infections
- The patient agrees to to attend a training programme once a week for five weeks preparing him/her to take drugs correctly
- The patient is willing to disclose their HIV status to another person who will support him/her
- The patient is willing to accept home visits from a support counsellor
- The patient has had blood tests estimating CD4 count below 200 and the clinical condition complies with World Health Organisation's disease status.
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