The new roof is up on the main building at Libuyu Health Centre – an exciting milestone in our redevelopment of the clinic building.
The existing building was not designed as a health centre, situated in the heart of a busy community on the edge of Livingstone.
Some sections of the building are over 30 years old, and in a delipidated condition. The number of patients has risen dramatically over the years, and as a result healthcare services have been squeezed into the limited space available.
Building back better
We have been working on the redesign and redevelopment of the building to improve space, layout and patient flow. Desperately needed space has been freed by moving maternity and child health services into the newly constructed wing.
The layout has been reconfigured to include:
- New consultancy, treatment and examination rooms
- New pharmacy, laboratory plus storage space
- Remodelled inpatient wards to create separate spaces for male, female and child wards of 4 to 6 beds
- Improved and upgraded toilets and sanitation
Redevelopments often run the risk of unexpected discoveries and delays, but our construction team has been able to make steady progress:
Improving structural integrity: A continuous concrete ring beam around the walls is introduced. This will help improve load distribution and prevent the walls from cracking in the future
The existing timber structure of the roof was in very poor condition. New timber rafters and purlins have been mounted. All the timber was treated to help deter termites who can serious issues.
Summer temperature in Livingstone ranges between 34 to 42 degrees. The design of the roof echoes that seen in the new maternity wing. The addition of a row of windows will improve ventilation, and as a result help reduce the temperature on the wards.
It is fantastic to see this project really coming together.
The team will shortly move onto electrical and plumbing work, and are on track to complete the project by the end of this year.
