Screening week at Project Hope ~ The HOPE Centre

From 11th - 15th March it is screening week at Project Hope. Every month here a week long screening exercise is conducted by volunteers in Zandspruit or nearby Cosmo City to detect high blood pressure and diabetes among the local residents, so those suffering from these chronic conditions can be referred to the Hope Centre clinic for on-going care. In 2013 a door-to-door screening programme has been established to maximise uptake of screening and make the process as easy as possible for the local population to access.

Essential screening kit

During the most recent screening programme, I went with trainee nursing assistant Bonita and team leader Polinah in to Zandspruit to meet, measure and test the residents we met for signs of diabetes and high blood pressure, making referrals to the Hope Clinic when necessary.

Patrick and his oldest two children

As we were walking through Zandspruit a local resident called Patrick called out to us, inviting us in to his home to screen himself, his wife and his neighbours. Patrick had seen the teams out the day before and was keen to get involved. After pulling chairs up for us, Patrick quickly rounded up a number of his neighbours and beckoned people off the street to join in the screening.

Bonita methodically measured blood pressure from each arm in every resident, followed by a prick test to discover glucose levels, then measured people’s height, weight and waist circumference. Polinah in turn carefully recorded each of the results and completed referral letters for residents when they showed signs of hypertension or diabetes.

Patrick who had welcomed us in, is a spray painter but currently out of work. He lives here in his house with his wife, two young children and an 8 week old baby. He tells me ‘the screening is such a good thing. If people don’t know they have a problem, then it will only get worse until it is difficult to deal with’.

Blood pressure check

Whilst Patrick’s results were fine, his wife showed signs of high blood pressure. She tells us she is ‘stressed because (she) has two young children and a baby and not much money’. She received a referral to the Hope Clinic like a number of other residents we met that day.

Residents gather at Patrick's house

We checked around 14 people at Patrick’s house. When we ran out of people to test at his house, Patrick in his enthusiasm joined us as we made our way through Zandspruit and before we knew it was approaching people on the street to take part in the screening. Our target was to screen 30 residents in one day, which we successfully managed to do. Sometimes however residents were reluctant to get involved, when I asked Patrick why people were not interested he said ‘they say they are well, and do not need to be tested. They don’t really understand about high blood pressure or diabetes. They say they will go to the doctors if they are ill’.

Glucose testing

Patrick was brilliant! He helped Bonita to measure patients, and helped to put people at ease, while Polinah was busy recording the results. Many of the residents we spoke to who had high blood pressure complained of stress because of unemployment and lack of money for basic living. All those who agreed to take part in the screening were very welcoming and grateful for the service offered.