Team PATA

PATA Personalities

Meet our PATA Expert Patients

PATA currently employs 138 expert patients who are working in 33 different clinics. PATA would like to salute and thank all of our expert patients for the wonderful work that they are doing in their clinics. These are some of their stories:

Alice, Clinic Assistant

Alice is a 46 year old expert patient from Kenya. Prior to being an expert patient, Alice was unemployed. She now works as a clinic assistant, receiving patients, retrieving files and taking patients' vital signs. Alice works in the clinic on three mornings per week. When she first started her job, she was taught to operate the machinery used to measure weight, height and blood pressure. Alice finds interacting with the patients the most exciting aspect of her job and she would like to receive training in adherence counseling. Alice feels that since the Expert Patient programme started in her clinic, more patients are coming for counseling and testing. She would like more Expert Patients to be involved in her clinic in the future.

Rebecca, Community visits

Rebecca, is a 34 year old expert patient also from Kenya. She has previously worked as a farmer and selling local brew in her community. Rebecca works with Valentine, another expert patient, visiting patients in her community. Initially Rebecca felt that it was difficult to learn to know all of the patients and to be accepted by them. When she first started working as an expert patient, she underwent training in how the clinic runs and in confidentiality. Rebecca recommends that other expert patients are also taught about confidentiality so that patients are not afraid when you visit them. The expert patient programme has benefited Rebecca's clinic because they are now able to trace defaulters and the expert patients themselves receive ongoing counselling. Rebecca herself is now able to buy food to sustain herself and her family with the income she earns from PATA. "I am happy that you have helped me understanding my status deeper. I will be happy to be trained more on HIV AIDS"

Meet Matseliso, 33 years old, from Lesotho:

"I do not do a specific work at the clinic, but as a clinical assistant, I do every job I trained for eg:

• Helping nurse assistant by taking weight and height for patients
• Interpreting at consulting room
• Holding adherence etc.

I work three days of the week, which are Monday, Tuesday and Friday which is 24 hours per week.

The most exciting aspect of my job is to hold adherence. I really enjoy it! When I started working at the clinic I had received a lot of training like testing, weights and heights, etc. Apart from training that I received at the clinic, I attended one of the workshop called Integrated Management of Adulthood Infections (IMAI). My clinic sent me there to be part of that workshop, and I have learnt more from IMAI.

I would like to have training on testing as a professional and learn more about the laws against people who are living with the virus of HIV/AIDS. I would like to receive more training on how to start small projects. I would like to train other Expert patients how to start small projects in order to make money to meet their needs.

I think if PATA would organize a workshop for EPs where they train them how to start small projects, I think it would be a huge improvement for EPs program.

To PATA with their EPs program, I would like to extend my hearty thanks to you all, suffice to say, I feel greatly honored to have the opportunity to benefit from EPS program. The small amount that I earned from PATA does not meet my needs but it makes a small change to me and my family and it is my fervent hope that PATA will do something to motivate us for the good job we do.

At my clinic PATA with EP program, does a great job, especially the duty of going to the field (community) to meet with defaulting patients, because in our clinic we have so many defaulters. It is our responsibility to visit patients who do not attend their follow up correctly."

An Average Day in Matseliso's Clinic
"In the morning I do adherence counseling.
First adherence: I talk about HIV/AIDS transmission, side effects of drugs, how to avoid re-infection and myths about HIV/AIDS transmission.
Second adherence: I talk about the ARVS, their names, how to use them and side effects.
Third adherence: I ask questions about first and second adherence to make sure that the patient understood1st and 2nd adherence before they start ARVS.
I also help to collect results from the laboratory, sort them out and file them with the help of the records' clerk. I also help with preparing the files for the next appointment. I also help in the pharmacy with pill count, stock taking and packing with the pharmacist."

Meet Genevieve from Yaoundé in Cameroon:

34 years old female, housewife and part time community volunteer at Chantal Biya Foundation. As a PATA expert patient, I receive patients, give them information and guide them. I work 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m to 3 p.m.

"My day starts by welcoming patients; I let them talk and then I listen. After listening to them, I give them the information needed and then guide them to various services where they are supposed to go. Some of the challenges I experienced are that I am neither a nurse nor an auxiliary nurse. It took me a while to get used to the system. What touched me most is that Dr Ateba involved us in the CTA activities and trusts us.

We have been trained as community workers on HIV/AIDS in October 2006 and we were given training certificates. I would like to have training as an auxiliary nurse, and also training in therapeutic education, and then get a reliable certificate that would allow me to get an employment in the future.

As for improving the expert patient program, I would like to meet expert patients from other countries to share and exchange experiences. Increase the number of training sessions and hire more HIV positive expert patients for a long time in order to have a better patient follow up.

The expert patient program makes me feel fulfilled, instructed and hopeful. At present, I look at life in a very positive way. In my family, they are aware that one can live longer with HIV/AIDS.

The expert patient program has a vital impact in the service as people infected and affected no longer consider HIV as synonymous to a death sentence and they are open to dialogues, furthermore, clinic appointments are observed."