Bolata Clinic is a government clinic that has not only been upgraded and improved, but now deals with TB and AIDS patients and also has maternity wards.

“At first there were no rooms for labour, so patients would have to be sent to their nearest hospitals to give birth. But now we are happy to be able to help them at the clinic as we now also have qualified nurses to the job,” said the clinic manager Carinah Monareng.

The clinic was opened by the Mayor of Qwaqwa, Cllr Vusimusi William Tshabalala, Premier Ace Magashule and the MEC of Health, Dr Benny Malakoane with the aim of providing improved health services to the local community.

Mayor Tshabalala said the clinic would continue to improve, and would now assist Tebang Clinic with maternity services. He said that when more employees were hired, they would prioritise the residents of Bolata. The clinic now functions around the clock, has a backup generator as well as two Jojo tanks for water storage.

Dr Matela Sepele, Deputy Director General of Clinical Health, said that the clinic will also work with “Right to Care”, now called the Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMD) programme, to distribute medication to key areas according to the patient registration forms and decisions. The programme is designed to reduce long queues for patients needing medication. The maternity ward offers prenatal care, a labour room and postnatal care for newborns and mothers.

Monareng said she was pleased that the new CCMDD system would mean that senior citizens no longer have to wait for hours on end to receive their medication.

One of the residents, Mrs Ntswaki Moholo, said she was extremely happy with the newly improved clinic, as were many others in the local community.

“We now get all the help we want, and pregnant women can even now give birth in the clinic. We are very grateful,” she said.