Bonteheuwel gets wellness hub
Vanguard day hospital has launched a wellness hub where Bonteheuwel residents can get basic health-care services closer to their homes.
It will run at the Bonteheuwel civic centre, which is where it was launched on Thursday last week.
It will be a collection point for chronic medication, and wound care; general health checks, including blood pressure, glucose and HIV testing; TB screening; family planning; antenatal and postnatal support; palliative care; deworming, mental health services and health education are among the services it will offer.
Vanguard day hospital facility manager Dr Levona Johnson said hospitals were designed for people who were acutely ill, and the wellness hub would help to ease the burden on the day hospital so that those who needed its services would not have to stand in such long queues.
“The purpose of the wellness hub is to get services closer to the community. We have partnered with various non-government organisations who can provide these health-care services.
“At the wellness hubs we also teach people to care for themselves holistically - emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically. All those factors play a part, for example, in your blood pressure level.
“We will evolve in terms of the kind of services offered, as it goes along. This is a first for Bonteheuwel.
“We are hoping to find other venues in Bonteheuwel as well. Langa has two wellness hubs.”
Finance MEC Deidré Baartman urged the community to make use of the free services at the wellness hub, including those for mental health.
“Sometimes we forget that we mustn't just keep our bodies fit, but also our brains. It’s important that we also know that it’s okay to ask for help... Please make use of the facility. When we break our leg, no-one says mean things to that person when they need a crutch, and the same thing applies to mental health. We need to see it in the same light and get past this stigma,” she said.
The wellness hub will be open every Thursday from 9am to 2pm at the Bonteheuwel civic centre. Walk-ins are welcome.
