Africa-Press – Cape verde. The population of Salamansa applauded the Stomatology service brought to the fishing village today, through a mobile clinic used for the first time by the Health Department to meet the needs of more distant communities.
Young Geovanna dos Santos was the first to be seen by the mobile clinic and at the end of the consultation, with a smile on her face, she revealed her satisfaction at the opportunity to have access to a service that she had not used before due to lack of money.
“They checked my teeth and sent me to the police station to extract some and clean others”, he detailed, revealing the importance of the initiative for the population of Salamansa with “a lot of need”.
In a similar situation, of financial limitation, Alina Matias and Arlinda Dias also welcomed the initiative, especially the latter because their son could see a doctor, at this moment with “many dental problems” already detected and which would only be resolved with a sum of 7,700 escudos.
“I didn’t have that money and, therefore, until now he hasn’t had treatment, and he’s always complaining about pain in his teeth and inflammation on his face”, explained Arlinda Dias.
The same source added that in the mobile clinic the 9-year-old son could be “better examined” and with a “smaller budget” to be able to afford, when raising the child alone.
Meanwhile, the stomatologist at the São Vicente Health Department, Nélida da Luz, confirmed that as this was the first operation of the mobile clinic, the services provided in the fishing community were more focused on interventions with fewer complications.
In this sense, a screening was first carried out by a team made up of students from the University of Mindelo (Uni-Mindelo), who then directed users to the mobile station to prepare quotes.
“We can do some extraction that is not too complicated and then, with a budget, we direct the patients to the police station, where they will continue the treatment, which will not be possible to do in the mobile clinic”, considered the doctor , satisfied with the “good demand” registered on site.
Especially because, as stated by the Health delegate, Elísio Silva, the decision to inaugurate the mobile clinic, donated last week by the Basque Association Euskal Trenbideetako Langileak Mugarik Gabe, was precisely due to the needs found in Salamansa.
From now on, according to the same source, the already equipped mobile clinic should travel to different locations on the island of São Vicente until supporting the neighboring islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau.
Elísio Silva admitted that it was a “costly service”, but said that there are partners who support the police station, including the Ministry of Health and even the association that donated the vehicle, and which must now also donate consumables.
“We are also asking for support from dentists who work in São Vicente to collaborate with us when traveling”, appealed the person in charge.
The health fair, part of the celebrations of World Health Day, whose central event will take place on the island of São Vicente, also focused on pediatric care, motivated by the “large number” of children in Salamansa, where there are weekly consultations, but not of this specialty, said Elísio Silva.
Therefore, according to the delegate, Portuguese professionals’ stay on the island was taken advantage of to carry out consultations at today’s event.
The fair, which involved around 20 multi-disciplinary professionals and divided between the Base Health Unit, Casa do Pescador and local school, made other services available to the population such as blood glucose screening, hypertension, HIV and dengue fever and malaria, Nutritionist and Psychology, among others.
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