LSPCA has run a very successful mobile veterinary clinic for the past two years, which has treated thousands of dogs, cats and farm animals (and the occasional rat, rabbit and guinea pig!).
Clinics provide basic veterinary treatment such as wound care along with rabies vaccinations and spay/neuter operations. These clinics provide the only access to veterinary care for low income communities. There is a huge shortage of vets in Malawi, and most people cannot afford regular veterinary care for their animals.
The mobile clinics are an excellent way to reach the local community, but there are drawbacks. High temperatures and humidity, very basic conditions (i.e. a table and a tent), no access to electricity or running water and lots of dust mean operating conditions are less than ideal and complicated operations are simply impossible. At the moment some very sick animals simply cannot be treated and it is kinder to put them to sleep. A fixed base will complement the mobile service and mean LSPCA can carry out more complicated operations, and care for many more animals.
The new clinic will also be a fantastic place for education and training. The general public will find all the information they need to care for their pets in our education room and staff will always be on hand to answer any questions. International and local vet students and new graduates will also be able to ‘see practice’ at the clinic which is a vital part of their training.
'Clinic in a box' is an exciting project to start a new veterinary clinic in Malawi, southern Africa. The new clinic needs everything from an x-ray machine to veterinary medicines and tables to computers. All the equipment will be packed into a huge shipping container which will go from the UK all the way through Mozambique to Malawi as unfortunately this specialised equipment is not available in Malawi. The equipment and supplies are vital to run a modern veterinary clinic which will treat all sorts of animals from cats to chickens, dogs to deer and guinea pigs to goats! 