Urban Clinics in Lusaka

Abstract

There are five large urban clinics in Lusaka (urban and peri-urban population 150,000 in 1966)1. These clinics are open from 8 a.in. to 4 p.in. on weekdays and from 8 a.in. to 10 a.in. on Sundays. They are extremely overworked as js the outpatient department of Lusaka Central Hospital to which clinic [)atients are referred. For six weeks during December 1965 and January 1966 a survey was conducted to see exactly what work the clinics and outpatient department were doing, with a view to planning future work. The survey was necessary because the official clinic returns are based on the patient's complaint and not on the diagnosis.