Clinic is held every day except Sunday. The hours are 730 AM until 5 PM except that Weds and Sat are half days.
The hope is that all patients will be seen that day but, if the number of patients is high and the number of providers is low, less ill patients may be asked to return the next day.
Each morning, patients line up and are briefly evaluated by the "triage docs" at 730 AM who decide whether a patient is urgent, semi urgent, or has more of a chronic or non -life threatening problem. Sick children are given priority. Patients then register and are given a carnet, which is a small booklet in which brief notes and prescriptions are written.
Throughout the day, more patients arrive and the provider who is the "point person" of that day does more triage every few hours.
Dave was in the clinic the first week and saw 20-25 patients daily. We are fortunate to have excellent translators who speak excellent English, the "official" language of French, and several tribal languages.
The range of illness is broad - musculoskeletal aches and pains and gastritis are common but malaria, pneumonia, TB, typhoid, intestinal parasites, cancers, and sickle cell disease are also seen.
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| A typical exam room with computer terminal for ordering labs and xrays. Results are usually available later in the day. Digital xrays are great! |
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| People waiting for the triage process to begin at 730 AM. Many arrived the previous day. |
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| Patients who have been registered waiting their turn outside the exam rooms. |
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| This is another group of people who have arrived later in the day and are awaiting the ongoing triage process. Sick children and ill-appearing adults are given priority. |
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