Participants:
Dr. Mada Banda – Manager Medical Services;
Dr. Mwadi Chakulya – Manager Community Medicine
Faculty Supervisor:
Charles Mayaka
Program:
MDI-Kenya Class of September 2007
History of the Agency:
The goal of KCM Health Services is to provide quality health services by promoting better health and well-being and prevent disease, disability and premature deaths to all KCM employees and their dependants. KCM strives to enhance the quality of its services by providing a comprehensive health service that is more accessible and is brought closer to its employees and their families. Konkola Copper Mines Plc (KCM) is the largest mining and metals company in Zambia. KCM is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc, a London-listed FTSE 100 metals and
mining group.
CHIP Project:
“KCM Door-to-Door Family Health Check” The vision of the door-to-door health check is to ensure that KCM employees and their dependants have a high quality of life as productive and healthy members of the mining community. The service was created to provide basic health information, counseling and health checks, conducted in the privacy and comfort of each employee’s home.
The program began in December 2007 as a pilot.
Changes Made during Phase I (Pilot):
- Provided comprehensive health checks to 1019 miner households from January to March 2008
- Provided at-home HIV counseling/testing to 3013 miners and dependants (70% received results)
- Provided HIV/AIDS sensitization to 4267 people
- Distributed 1015 insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in miner households
Following the success of the pilot, the program restarted in November 2008 and is expected to run until March 2009.
Changes Made during Phase II:
- Provided comprehensive health checks to 729 miner households from December 2008 to January 2009
- Provided at-home HIV counseling and testing to 2309 miners and their dependants (77% received results)
- Referred 95 individuals for wellness clinic, 490 for Pap smear screening, 119 for prostate cancer screening and other conditions (STIs, antenatal, etc.)
- Distributed 715 ITNs and 3333 condoms in miner households
- Included follow-up visits to provide psychosocial counseling, assess referrals to the health facilities, and obtain feedback on how the program can be improved
KCM home visits ensure quality health care in the comfort of one’s home
Expected Outcomes:
- Improved monitoring of health status of employees and families, improved health knowledge, improved health service delivery; increased uptake of HIV counselling and testing, HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support; and improved health of the community.
- Benefits for the company, including reduced medical expenses related to HIV/AIDS due to early disease diagnosis; information collection to provide support for budget and cost projection of drugs and other requirements; feedback on current medical services and how they can be improved; improved employee-employer relationship; improved relationship between KCM and the community; and a healthier workforce and enhanced productivity.
Lessons Learned:
- Despite planning, there can still be challenges in implementation. For Banda, “The biggest challenge faced by my department is procuring the correct, quality goods and resources in a timely manner. There is also the challenge of being cost-effective in how we conduct our current operations.”
- A team committed and dedicated to the vision of a program is essential.
- Management support, good communication and stakeholder involvement ensured project success.
For Banda, highlights from the MDI included the lectures on strategy, organizational planning and leadership. “Failing to plan is planning to fail,” he advised. He also appreciated the MDI’s focus on collaboration. Feedback from other participants working in HIV/AIDS was useful in designing the CHIP. KCM Community
Health has also applied the CHIP framework to its Malaria Control program, Smartcare program and public health program.
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