Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best
Once in a while you read an inspirational story that makes you reassess the work you do and the potential that it has.
Jo Quarterman
Published 19 May 2014
One of those stories can be read in the latest edition of Fast Company magazine. It showcases one positive initiative that will make a real difference to people’s lives - in the form of a mobile clinic in Southeast Asia where there's only one doctor on average for every 4,000 people.
A shipping container mounted on a truck base will help that one doctor reach more patients, and will also act as an education facility. It is the result of a design competition by the Building Trust International, and at 164-feet long there will be space for examination and treatment rooms, a kitchen, bathroom and storage area.
Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. And this upcoming project in Cambodia is a great innovative example. The idea of putting a health clinic on wheels to help thousands of people access basic healthcare in a remote region and treating vital illness such as diabetes and malaria is truly inspirational.
We’re lucky. Few people in the UK suffer from lack of access to healthcare, but mobile healthcare is also alive and well here and the benefits being realised in Cambodia are reflected on home ground.
The flexibility of a mobile healthcare unit is one of its biggest benefits; trailers can be linked together to create larger or additional treatment areas, a clinic can be in place for as long as it’s required from a few weeks to several years and they are quick to set up and deploy making them suitable for emergency situations such as natural disasters where urgency is key or to temporarily increase capacity during busy winter periods or for decanting requirements.
Mobile healthcare facilities are also making people’s lives easier; we’ve seen patient travel and waiting times vastly reduced with our medical trailers offering renal or chemotherapy treatment right in the heart of the community.
A mobile solution is also affordable; they prove relatively inexpensive compared to conventional building and land costs usually associated with increasing capacity to treat patients.