CMA Balessing : Basic amenities are lackingBasic lacking

In buildings dating from the German colonial era, the Balessing District Medical Centre is struggling to fulfil its mission of proximity and offering quality health care to the population.

Adèle BITGA

Located in the Balessing grouping of the Penka- Michel district, on National Road No. 6 linking
Bafoussam to Dschang, this health facility aims to be close to the population. A vision that is sometimes undermined by the harsh reality: the reception and consultation are not discreet. This is the observation made by some patients, including Annie. “I came for a consultation at Balessing Hospital last February. To my surprise, the consultations were held in the open air and the nurse who received me took my parameters in the presence of other patients. Afterwards, she started asking me questions about my health in front of all the patients present. I felt so ashamed and deeply embarrassed,” she said. For Bintou, the disappointment was greater. “When I went to Balessing Hospital, the nurse in charge of taking my parameters
asked me why I was there in front of her colleagues and other patients. As I didn’t know what to do to be alone with the nurse, I was forced to reveal the reason for my coming in front of everyone. I didn’t like this at all, because I have to say that the respect of privacy and even of professional secrecy should be reviewed by the staff working there, and moreover, access to this place reserved for reception is open to any individual”, she was offended.
Dilapidated infrastructure This opinion is shared by most of the patients we met at the Balessing
Medical Centre. “It is not normal that you go to the hospital for a medical consultation and when you come out, everyone knows why you were there, even if it is for a simple injury,” Fabrice added. All this shows the urgency
of the efforts to be made by the administration of this health facility in place for the past three years, to rethink the dilapidated infrastructure they have inherited.