Share Care Referral programme gains momentum

3 October 2011

Through partnership between the Department of Health and the Anova Health Institute the number of antiretroviral treatment (ART) sites in the Western Cape continue to expand.

Thanks to the addition of the Kasselsvlei and Elsiesrivier clinics to the Western Cape’s Share Care Referral programme, stable patients taking ART no longer have to travel to Tygerberg hospital to collect their medication. Now they can receive their ARVs from their nearest clinic instead.

The Share Care programme works by referring patients to smaller primary health care clinics which are visited by a designated Share Care ARV nurse who manages patients and dispenses ARVs.

The tertiary facility at Tygerberg hospital acts as the central hub where all patients are monitored and the small network is held together by a comprehensive system which monitors and evaluates patients and processes.

Project manager Dr. Marije van Schalkwyk predicts that this will have a positive influence on adherence, “Patients say that the programme has eased the impact that HIV has on their personal lives, and that translates into making it easier for them to continue taking their treatment.”

So far 17 per cent of Tygerberg’s patients have been referred to these primary clinics via the Share Care programme, alleviating pressure on the clinics’ staff and facilities.

This means that over 200 more stable patients will be officially transferred-out enabling Tygerberg to better fulfill its role as a higher level tertiary healthcare facility.