Sex health clinic stops at KCC, moves to Bwaila hospital

The Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe has closed its 7c Section which was treating patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other related cases, the hospital's authority confirmed to Mana on Friday. The services that 7c Section offered, including the UNC's projects concerning HIV have since been moved down town to Bwaila Hospital with effect from January 28, 2016. KCH Deputy Director (Nursing), who is also spokesperson for the referral health facility, Mabel Chinkhata, said as major referral health facility, KCH's initial mandate was to offer tertiary health care services. But she said 7c Section at the hospital had been offering health care services which were also offered at primary and secondary levels in health centres and district hospitals, hence the closure of the section. She added that the other reason was that there had been demand for space as the hospital was increasing its services especially in specialized areas. “Although the hospital is not growing in terms of infrastructure, it is growing in terms of specialized services in areas such as Hypertension, Diabetes and Oncology,” explained Chinkhata. “We, therefore, thought of moving the services of 7c Section to Bwaila Hospital, which already offers the services, and patients seeking the services are advised to go there or the nearest health centres in their locations.” However, she said more complicated STI cases referred to KCH from health centres and district hospitals would be handled in Dermatology Department of the referral health facility. For years, KCH's 7c Section has been known for its services in HTC, civic education on STIs prevention and treatment of the same.