Multifunctional Health Center

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exceptional medical servicesno exception!

Organisation name 6th District General Direction for Social Care and Child Protection

Contact person: Lucian Popa

office@dgaspc6.com

The project is based on the need in the community to access qualitative medical services at low prices or free of charge, due to financial deficiencies that are characteristic of socially vulnerable people: the elderly, people with disabilities, the unemployed, children, the sick, etc.

Located in the West of the Capital, with a surface area of 38 km_, equivalent to 3,700 hectares and with a population of nearly 390,000 inhabitants, 6th District is the second largest District in Bucharest.

After a wave of young beneficiaries, working with various illnesses, asking for social assistance at the 6th District General Direction for Social Care and Child Protection and many elderly people requesting home care and support, we asked the question : how good is the health of the population in 6th District? The answer to this question was based on studies carried out on samples of vulnerable groups in the community and it turned out that the health of the population is closely related to the level of family income and to the level of education.

Problems in the health system are always linked to large queues and dissatisfied patients because they were unable to get diagnostic services or the drugs they needed. They often complain about being humiliated when dealing with the health sector – there are few alternatives within the system, and providers often do not make any effort to be attractive or to meet the users.

There is a big problem with access to health services, especially for the poor. Many poor people requiring medical services do not resort to them because most poor people are not even aware of the need they have to access healthcare.

Community poverty has a peripheral character, being located at the borders of large cities. Areas of community poverty focus on an important share of poor populations on the outskirts of cities, people living here with low access to jobs, education, culture or health care, being at risk of social exclusion.

The project The Multifunctional Health Center “Sfantul Nectarie” proposes the social inclusion of disadvantaged people from the 6th District community.

Social exclusion is the placement of a person out of normal forms of social life as a result of multiple deprivations with low chances of reinsertion into a normal social life. The result of discrimination, lack of opportunities, accumulation of deprivation, degradation or non-development of normal social functioning or of an individual or collective marginalization life style.

Social marginalization is a term used mainly with the same content as social exclusion, referring to the position of some people / groups outside (on the “margin”) of the social, “normal” social life of the community.

Social inclusion is the process of reinsertion into normal life forms, in a normal social functioning of people in a situation of social exclusion / marginalization or risk of marginalization, capacity building and opportunity provision.

Multifunctional Health Center ÒSfantul Nectarie" benefits from the participation and financial support of 6th District Local Council.

Participatory contribution of the beneficiaries is critical for the success and sustainability of the socio-medical services provided within the Multifunctional Health Center. It is also necessary for healthcare interventions to have a positive impact on the community.

The most effective social accountability measures are to allow beneficiaries to participate in decisions that concern them directly from the point of view of social services in particular and health in particular.

For example: After analyzing the satisfaction questionnaires applied to the patients, it was concluded that more than half of them were mainly interested in accessing dental services at the center. Thus, for those who only request these services, another facility has been introduced that helps them considerably, benefiting (in terms of revenue) from a higher amount of money, given the higher costs that are typical of the provision of dentistry services.

Social participation for vulnerable groups and their groups can be supported by creating a positive social climate, increasing tolerance and reducing discrimination, and increasing confidence in institutions. It is equally important to create institutional mechanisms by which poor or marginalized groups can be empowered to participate in their communities and which can encourage social innovation to support participation.

The project can be adapted by other entities easly, because the need for health services is high everywhere. But there has to be a will.

Lesson learnt implementing this project:

- vulnerable people / groups lack the education regarding self health and the importance of preventing;

- poor people aren't  as poor as they what others to think. during our social visits and recieving the fiscal papers that show us the revenue of every beneficiary we see that they are not so poor as they let us believe;

- lack of health preventing from early ages;

- lack of information in the community. 

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