Delivery of primary health care equipment will improve the quality of patient care

On Tuesday 13th March 2018 Mr Imri Ahmeti, Mayor of Lipjan Municipality, received the final installment of basic Primary Health Care (PHC) equipment provided by the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC) Accessible Quality Healthcare Project. The equipment includes 15 basic items such as weighing scales, blood pressure measurement equipment, as well as equipment for minor surgery, and these 15 items have now been distributed in more than 80 PHC facilities in the 12 municipalities that are supported by the project (Fushe Kosova, Gjakova, Gllogoc, Gracanica, Junik, Lipjan, Malisheva, Mitrovica, Obiliq, Rahovec, Skenderaj and Vushtrri).

In addition, the project has provided the Main Family Medicine Centres in these Municipalities with more specialized equipment including an electro-cardiograph, a non-invasive glucometer and a HbA1c analyzer, which is a machine used to measure a patient’s blood glucose level – an important test to detect whether or not patient has a diabetes or if a patient with diabetes is receiving the most effective treatment.

During 2017 a number of PHC doctors formed an Expert Group to work with the project team and an international expert during the procurement process to ensure the quality of the items and the total cost of the equipment is more than €400,000. Dr Agim Krasniqi, Head of the Main Family Medicine Centre in Lipjan Municipality, states “I was a member of the Expert Group and I am very happy that today we can celebrate the distribution of this essential equipment to all 81 PHC facilities that are supported by AQH Project.

The equipment will help our Family Medicine doctors to provide a better quality service for patients. Now, for the first time in Kosovo, doctors in these 12 Main Family Medicine Centres will be able to carry out HbA1c testing which is the most effective investigation for the diagnosis and management of diabetes.

We will also be able to do a heart tracing in the Main Family Medicine Centre if needed so that we don’t have to send the patient to hospital for this investigation and the non-invasive glucometer will be used to test the patients’ blood glucose level without them having to have a blood sample taken”.