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THE National Social Security Authority’s new state-of-the-art mobile clinic, which was commissioned last Friday by Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister, Cde Prisca Mupfumira, will be used to check the state of health of miners and industrial workers.
The mobile clinic, which is fitted with its own generator, includes an X-Ray room, as well as a consultation room and equipment for testing lung functioning and for determining hearing impairment and testing visual acuity.
Cde Mupfumira commissioned the mobile clinic and NSSA’s Occupational Health Centre, which is fitted with similar equipment, at NSSA’s Willowvale Complex in Harare.
The commissioning was also attended by Health and Child Care Minister, David Parirenyatwa, who commended NSSA for reintroducing a mobile clinic. He said the facility would significantly help his ministry’s primary healthcare endeavours.
The mobile clinic will enable NSSA’s Occupational Safety and Health Division to monitor the health of workers, particularly those employed in dusty occupations, especially in mines, where the risk of pneumoconiosis is greatest.
The clinic’s mobile digital X-Ray equipment should enable pneumoconiosis to be detected. The X-Ray equipment and lung function testing facility should also be useful in detecting tuberculosis, which is another disease miners are susceptible to. NSSA used to run a similar mobile clinic service about two decades ago. However, the equipment became obsolete and unable to provide a beneficial service.
Speaking at the commissioning, the Minister acknowledged the importance of the mobile clinic in the surveillance of workers’ occupational health.
“Up until this day there has been a significant gap in the regulation and control of occupational disease surveillance of our beloved workers,” she said, adding that occupational disease surveillance was an essential component in informing and shaping government policy.
She pointed out that it was in the interests of employers to have a healthy workforce.
“Our labour force must be promoted, protected and well looked after. A healthy employee is a motivated human being who can perform at optimum levels,” she said.
She said she was informed that the concept of risk-based medical surveillance would form the basis of the work that NSSA’s Occupational Safety and Health division would carry out using the mobile clinic equipment.
“One of the main components of the mobile clinic is diagnosing of a fatal disease called pneumoconiosis, which is a progressive and irreversible disease caused by the inhalation of inorganic or mineral dust.
“Once a worker contracts thisdisease, it is irreversible. From a policy perspective, we must be seen to remember the old adage that says prevention is always better than cure,” she said.
Mrs Mupfumira added that the surveillance exercise also seeks to screen workers who are at high risk of contracting this disease and pointed out that there is a direct benefit in diagnosing pneumoconiosis early.
“The NSSA Pneumoconiosis Medical Bureau has this year diagnosed 17 cases of pneumoconiosis. This figure is simply too high for our populace. I call upon all stakeholders gathered here to redouble our efforts and commitment in arresting this worrying trend.”
Online Reporter