Hospital entrance
Clanwilliam Hospital
Clanwilliam Hospital serves approximately 50,000 people in the region and receives patients from remote mission hospitals and field clinics. The hospital receives a number of patients requiring X-ray, including positive and suspected tuberculosis cases needing a chest X-ray for diagnosis and disease monitoring. The digital conversion of the hospital’s existing film-based unit will allow the hospital to more rapidly diagnose and treat patients, providing better patient care. It will also enable the hospital to share images with local clinics without the risk of losing the file’s diagnostic integrity during transportation.
South Africa has one of the highest HIV/TB burdens of any country in the world. TB is the number one cause of death for people living with HIV. This highly contagious disease can spread with relative ease in a country like South Africa where intense poverty and dense living conditions facilitate its transmission. South Africa has 0.7% of the world’s population, but accounts for 28% of the global number of HIV‐positive TB cases and 33% of the HIV‐positive cases in the African region, yet only about 30% of notified TB cases are tested for HIV. In addition to TB, other respiratory diseases account for an estimated one third of all primary healthcare visits in South Africa.
