Temporary Health Care at Psah Tauch (Parish of Phnom Penh)

Here and Now : How was the temporary health care centre born and in what context has it developed?
XH : The " Temporary Health Care Centre " was founded under the impetus of Mgr Destombes and started functioning from 1992. The" Temporary Health Care Centre " is situated in the heart of Phnom Penh, in the north of the city. The building which we call the " Temporary Health Care Centre " was built at the time, specially anticipated to receive sick people. The parish complex regroups all the activities of the parish of Phnom Penh: the Church, youth activities, sewing lessons, dance, catechism etc... it's therefore a very living place with lots of passage.

Here and Now : In what context was the " Temporary Health Care Centre " founded?
Xavier Huchet : At the end of the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, the Church began to reorganise itself little by little from 1990. In each parish, a liturgical committee, a catechism committee and a mutual aid committee for charitable actions were created. The functioning of the "Temporary Health Care Centre" depends on this organisation: in Phnom Penh, it's action is supported by the mutual aid committee of the parish. In the provinces, it is the local mutual aid committees which decide to send the sick person to Phnom Penh. Someone coming to be treated at the centre must have an "authorisation" from the mutual aid committee from their original parish. The centre receives sick people who are sent from parishes throughout the kingdom.

Here and Now : But that means that the centre only welcomes Catholics?
Xavier Huchet : No, the centre is not just reserved for Catholics, not just because the Catholic community is numerically very reduced (25,000 people, and, thank God not all sick), but above all as it's the duty of a Christian to help one's brother, whatever his faith be.

Here and Now : What are the objectives of the centre? What do they do concretely?
Xavier Huchet : The objective of the centre is to permit people from the provinces to come and be treated in Phnom Penh. It's a matter of responding to essential needs:

• lack of specialised medical structures: there is now a provincial network of dispensaries, efficient for small illnesses, but not for treatments or operations. These illnesses can only be treated in Phnom Penh.
• Poverty: for serious pathologies, the centre looks after the consultations for the poorest sick people.

The centre enables the people coming from the provinces to "physically" enter into a hospital: an unclean and badly dressed sick person would be turned away from the door of a hospital. There is also corruption which pollutes the public health system of the country: one must pay to sign up to the waiting list of a doctor, pay to receive a prescription or to receive an injection from the infirmery etc... The centre, through it's experience and relative importance has more weight than the sick person presenting himself alone at the hospital. For every sick person, the following are taken up by the centre: hospital care, medication, consultations, lodging, food and the transport costs from the province.

Here and Now : How many people are looked after there?
Xavier Huchet : The number of sick people received at the centre varies according to the diseases and therefore the costs that the treatment will entail. The centre functions with an average budget of $1800 to $2000 a month. The budget is, for a large part, assured by the French-speaking catholic community of Tokyo without which the project couldn't survive. Individuals from France or passing through Cambodia, the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) and the French-speaking community of Phnom Penh also participate. Of course, the larger the budget, the more we can do for the sick people.

Here and Now : How does the centre work?
Xavier Huchet : The centre is managed by three people under the responsability of Father Bob: Sister Viriginia, a sister of Saint Vincent de Paul, native to the Phillipines with a nursing training. She looks after the medical following of the sick people: she makes the first diagnostic when the sick person arrives; she then decides which hospital they should be sent to, or which treatment to give them if possible (the centre has a small pharmacy for local treatments). Mr. Eng Tri looks after the transport of the sick people between the centre and the various hospitals in Phnom Penh, according to their speciality. Finally, a parish woman looks after the cooking and cleaning.

Interview made possible for the bulletin Here and Now of the French-speaking chaplaincy of Tokyo. Number 111.
Xavier Huchet is a volunteer in Phnom Penh since September 2002.