Implementing COPC

How does ward-based primary health care function? 

Our approach to primary care in the wards is called community oriented primary care or COPC. COPC is a way of doing primary health. 

In COPC

  1. we work in defined physical areas with individuals and families as well as all the organisations and people who contribute to health;
  2. we work to promote health, prevent disease and support treatment, recovery and end of life care;
  3. we work to help ensure that people with the same needs get the same care, and that people with greater needs are given priority;
  4. we use the best available knowledge in a way that is relevant to the local context; and
  5. we work to integrate services around people and their needs.

CHWs do not work alone:

  1. They work in teams and are supported by a nurse who is also the team leader.
  2. The WBOT is supported by doctors, as well as other professionals, like social workers and environmental health officers.
  3. The WBOT is supported by government managers and support staff , university educators and researchers, private sector and non-governmental experts in information technology, health care organisations and management.
  4. The team is supported by students from the University of Pretoria (e.g. medical, psychology, nutrition, theology, audiology, physiotherapy, design, built environment and agriculture students).

We work together and learn together:
To look after ourselves and the health of our families we all need to become health literate. Health is everyone’s concern. Health is something we all can learn. In COPC we make health a shared responsibility and learning part of doing health care. Students and professionals work with WBOTs and families to improve everyone’s knowledge and practice.

How ward-based primary health care works?
Step 1: Household registration - to begin ward-based primary health we need to find out who lives in your home and what your family and individual health situation is. We call this household registration.
Step 2: Health status assessment - after registration, your CHW will come back and find out about each individual’s health. We call this a health status assessment.
Step 3: Urgent health care needs - through their WBOT, your CHWs will also help you attend to health problems that need urgent attention.
Step 4: Planning and intervening - using all the information, the WBOT will develop and implement plans to support local health.

The registration and the individual health status information will be captured by a Community Health Care Worker (CHW)on an application on a cell phone. This data will be used to do five important things, namely -

  1. to help the WBOT support your family’s health care needs;
  2. to improve health and manage disease better in your neighbourhood;
  3. to improve the way the health system works;
  4. to find out about and better understand health and disease management in families
  5. and communities (research); and
  6. to support learning and advance health literacy.

Confidentiality:
Information collected from household family members is sent to a closed system created by the Department of Health/City of Tshwane/University of Pretoria. It cannot be sent to or seen by service providers who are not part of the team.

 

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