Rehabilitation
The NSSA Workers' Compensation Centre situated in Mzilikazi suburb in the city of Bulawayo is a unique complex, which offers a variety of rehabilitation services to all injured workers. The complex is located next to Mpilo Central Hospital and caters for up to 200 patients at any given time with 80 of them as in-patients. The patients or rather the rehabilitees are referred from NSSA's regional offices throughout the country.
The Centre offers a variety of services, which can be classified as:
Medical Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation
Social Rehabilitation
Medical Rehabilitation
Under medical rehabilitation workers undergo physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy aims at making it possible for workers to regain their functional ability within the shortest possible time. The department is fully equipped with three main units for physical treatment to deal with specific individual requirements, which are: gymnasium, electrotherapy and hydrotherapy.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy aims at re-establishing the functional activities of the injured worker by making him or her participate in purposeful activities so as to improve his/her performance, promote his/her physical and mental well being so that he/she can cope with all activities of daily living.
Occupational therapy also helps to reduce psychological stress on the worker caused by sudden inactivity as a result of an injury. The following activities are used to activate the injured parts:
Macrame activity
Woodwork activity
Carpet making activity
Knitting
Leathercraft
Gardening
Paraplegic Unit
Grossly disabled and workers with severe spinal injuries are admitted to this 15-bedded unit where they receive 24 hour nursing care. The staff in this unit teaches the worker self reliance skills such as transferring from bed to wheel chair and vice bers, wheelchair to toilet seat and vice versa etc. They are also taught how to control and manage their bladder and bowels.
Industrial Clinic
The clinic mainly caters for injured workers from and around Bulawayo. The workers are mainly from companies that do not have industrial clinics. The clinic has a full time doctor and nurses and it is open everyday except Sundays and public holidays.
In addition the clinic assists in identifying cases that need referral for physiotherapy.
|
Vocational Rehabilitation
The centre employs a full time Social Worker who mediates and liaises with employers to facilitate job placement for injured workers or find alternative jobs in the same workplace. |
Vocational training
Rehabilited workers are given training in skills that will assist them if they are unable to go back to their former emplyment or look for alternative employment or set up self-help projects.
The courses on offer are
Leathercraft
Tailoring
Carpentry
Welding
Market gardening
Poultry
Rabbitry
Workers are also taught Business Planning and Management. Courses duration range from three to nine months.
|
Social Rehabilitation
Counselling
After sustaining injuries at work a large number of workers suffer from serious psychological and emotional trauma as well. The centre offers both psychological support alongside physical treatment. This will assist the worker in accepting his/her disability and help return to as near normal family life as possible.
Other services offered inlude:
Pre-settlement visits
Follow up visits
Referral to aid agencies etc
|
Other Services
Social Acivities
The centre encourages residents to actively participate in exercises in the form of both indoor and outdoor games.
For entertainment there is a colour TV, video cassette recorder and radios.
The NSSA Rehabilitation Centre aims to provide the disabled worker with an enabling environment where they can be rehabilitated both physically and mentally.
After full completion of prescribed treatment programmes a disabled worker should be able to lead as near a normal life as possible and participate in normal activities in society as an equal member. The success of the rehabilitation programmes offered by the Centre depends on active participation by all stakeholders - especially the employer. |
|
