By Silindzelwe Nxumalo
It does not rain but pours for The Luke Commission (TLC) as they have once again cut down on their services at yet another centre. TLC has added the Miracle Campus in Sidvokodvo to its limited schedule after they did the same for Matsapha Mobile Clinic on October 14, 2023.
TLC took to its social media pages to alert the public that due to resource constraints, the Miracle Campus in Sidvokodvo and Matsapha Mobile Clinic would have a limited schedule for the week of 23 October 2023.
They stated that the Miracle Campus in Sidvokodvo would provide outpatient services on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday only while Matsapha Mobile Clinic would be open Wednesday and Friday only (closed Monday due to Sibaya).
“We have loved the opportunity to serve you 365 days a year, and we deeply regret this inconvenience to you, our Very Important Patients (VIPs),” read part of the statement. This statement comes after the TLC took out the same statement on October 14, 2023, sharing with the public that the Matsapha Mobile Clinic would have a limited schedule in the week of October 16, 2023.
The Matsapha Mobile Clinic was meant to be opened on October 16, 18, and 20, 2023. Through the mobile clinic, the TLC attends to over 300 patients daily free of charge. The mobile clinic has been key in providing early morning and evening general services to the urban working population.
TLC last month stated that the mobile clinics target young adults, working age, and those who work.
Some of these services included visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), FP, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), minor medical treatment, high-throughput screening (HTS), lab, eye screening, COVID screening testing, and vaccination.
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TLC also stated that it had a public-private partnership with the Matsapha Town Board providing security, site, utilities, and vehicles. According to the statement TLC is going through a tough time. The Luke Commission, which has become the go-to health facility in the country, had earlier stated that it may be forced to turn patients back at the rate at which it was seeing an exponential increase in expenditure and as funding has dwindled.
Last year, TLC attended to 217 363 outpatient visits and for this year, projections were 274 578 outpatient visits. For next year, it was projected that the visits will shoot up to 337 420. This comes as the country’s health sector is faced with a drug shortage crisis, which has seen patients having to purchase their medication. With the high costs of medication at pharmacies and private hospitals, patients end up at TLC where they are treated free of charge.
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In August the TLC had a media briefing where the TLC Director Echo VanderWal, stated that between 2019 and 2022, the total number of outpatients increased by more than 50 per cent each year, requiring additional personnel, medical supplies, and financial resources. TLC has never charged patients. The generosity of private donors, gift-in-kind donors, foundations organizations, and government partners supply resources for TLC’s mission,” said VanderWal.
She said with the outpatient visits versus the funding they received, they were fast headed to a challenge where they would find themselves failing to serve emaSwati in dire need of medical care. The director mentioned that they received funding from some donors before, but that was drying up, adding that they tried very hard to come up with solutions on how they could continue to operate.
VanderWal said it would take a miracle to be able to cater for all the people who visit them at their facilities.
The Luke Commission was founded to serve the most isolated and underserved people of Eswatini with free comprehensive, compassionate healthcare.
It provides outpatient, inpatient, surgical, emergency, and critical care at the Miracle Campus situated in Sidvokodvo. TLC also delivers outpatient care through more than 100 mobile hospital outreaches each year across the country.