Field Visit to Nozha Health Center Report
Mariam Mohamed Abdelaziz Mahmoud Abdeldayem
30/6/2023
Introduction
Primary health care is the first-line of treatment that a patient comes in contact with in order to
receive a diagnosis and long-term healthcare for an illness until cure or for the rest of their lives.
Primary health care constitutes of mainly general practitioners and nurses. Another goal of primary
health care is providing regular check-ups to insure that your health is within the normal. 1
Activities
On Saturday, the 27th of June, 2023, my group B1.2 headed to مركز صحة النزهةfor a field visit
where we were to conduct an assessment of the facilities and healthcare provided.
The visit started at 9 am with the gathering of all students in front of the health centre then
proceeding to enter the building and start our tour of the premises.
Our tour mainly covered the vaccination centre where children were given all their government-
required vaccines. The nurses gave us a brief walkthrough of how the special fridges were packed
with the vials and their plans to preserve the heat-sensitive vials in case of a power outage.
The vaccination room had several posters that aimed to educate mothers on the importance of
vaccination and the frequency of each type of vaccine.
Sadly, we did not witness any child getting a vaccine on that day so I cannot comment on the
hygiene and precautions taken by the medical staff.
Next, we saw two rooms aimed for physical rehabilitation therapy and the doctor responsible for
them had commented that most of the health centre’s fundings go towards the vaccinations and
that the equipment in the rehabilitation rooms were all from their own salaries. This shows great
negligence from the ministry towards other specialities which will be addressed again through this
report. I am deeply inspired by the doctors’ dedication to their work that they would sacrifice part of
their earnings for the betterment of the centre.
We then proceeded to see the Internal Medicine room followed by the very small lab on the
premises that was mainly for detection of parasites according to the lab technician.
There was also a paediatrics clinic and a gynaecology and obstetrics clinic. We did not have a chance
to see any patients being examined and therefore have no way of judging the protocol they follow.
However, I can say that the protocol for disinfecting the medical apparatuses used by the
gynaecology clinic was proper as I witnessed them clean and prepare several speculums.
We proceeded to showcase our “nutrition during pregnancy” to a few expecting mothers awaiting
their turn for their monthly check-ups before concluding our very quick visit to the centre.
Strength points
The health center seemed well-prepared with pre-set protocols in case of emergencies to conserve
the vaccines for the patients.
An ultrasound machine was present in the obstetrics clinic which is very helpful in assessing fetal
well-being.
Awareness posters were present in every room about various vaccines and viruses.
There was also a family-planning center on-site but it was closed at the time.
Weakness points
The clinic does not seem to be as prepared for adult patients as it is prepared for children or
pregnant women.
The machines in use all seem old and the laboratory on-site is not able to provide quick and full
blood work-up.
The health center is not equipped to handle minor emergencies such as dehydration, bone fractures
and deep wounds.
The center did not provide programs for cigarette smoking.
Recommendation
I strongly recommend allocating more funds towards this health center to improve the quality of
healthcare provided by purchasing newer machines and ultrasounds. An extra fund can be given to
set dialysis machines to be able to provide healthcare to renal patients. An X-ray machine on-site for
emergency fractures is also a suggestion.
Conclusion
The visit was fruitful with knowledge about vaccines. The health center is very well-equipped when it
comes to children and pregnant women.
Reference
1. PHCRIS Getting Started Guides: Introduction to... Primary Health Care, Primary Health Care
Research & Information Service (2016).
2. Better health channel. Primary healthcare explained.
[Link]
explained.
