“I used to run away from the district health team whenever they came to my facility”
Teguzibirwa Domicilliary Clinic is one of the franchises Marie Stopes Uganda partners with to increase access to family planning (particularly long-term methods) to vulnerable communities at a price they can afford.
It is operated by Ms Sarah Namubiru, the proprietor of the facility, and a midwife by vocation. Sarah joined the Marie Stopes Blue Star network in 2012 when the clinic was much smaller, with few clients for Family Planning services.
Like it’s done for anyone who joins the Bluestar network, Sarah underwent extensive training in providing Long Term Reversible Contraception (LARC) by the MSUG clinical team.
She was also equipped with mobilization, business management, documentation, and record-keeping skills.
When asked about her experience before joining the network, Sarah had this to say;
“Before joining the Bluestar network, our working conditions were poor, and so was the relationship with district health officials. I would run away whenever they came to check whether the clinic was meeting the quality standards. We lacked guidance on how to improve the service quality and didn’t know how to document or keep records which affected our relationship with the district health officials. After joining the network, the Marie Stopes team guided us on how to improve the quality of our services, taught us how to draft and submit district reports and how to request medical commodities.”
She admits that her relationship with district health officials greatly improved as a result, and could no longer hide from them when they visited for inspection.
“Our performance also greatly improved. We experienced an increase in client footfall, which increased our service income. This has enabled us to expand the facility with better infrastructure,” she adds
