Evaluating public sector service delivery at KwaZulu-Natal provincial hospitals : a case study of the Durban Metropolitan and Ilembe region.
Date
2012
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Abstract
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,1996 (Act 108 of 1996) and the Patients’
Rights Charter (Patients’ Rights Charter: Online) guarantee all citizens the right to basic
health care services (South Africa, 1996: chapter 3). Furthermore, the White Paper on the
Transformation of the Public Service (South Africa, 1997) states that the delivery of
healthcare should be guided by the principles contained in the framework of Batho Pele, a
Sotho term meaning “People First”.
Hospitals play an important role in delivering healthcare. However, strong allegations have
been made about the inability of various provincial hospitals to provide health care in line
with the Constitution and the Patients’ Rights Charter.
Customer satisfactionis a vital measure of performance for firms, industries and national
economies (Anderson et al., 1994).The growing health care literature suggests that patient
satisfaction should motivate strategic decisions in the healthcare sector (Andaleeb, 2001).
Research has indicated that the services provided by a company or institution can be
measured by determining the inconsistency between what the customer wants (expectations)
and how the customer experiences the service (perceptions).
Little research has been conducted to date in KwaZulu-Natal provincial hospitals to evaluate
the progress made in improving service delivery of healthcare; the healthcare system and the
administration thereof, which is a major cause of poor service delivery in the provincial
hospitals.
This research study aims to contribute towards the identification of health care requirements
by articulating the expectations of patients. Following a literature review which provided
insight into the conceptual and contextual framework of public administration and the role of
knowledge management in enhancing public sector service delivery, empirical data were
gathered by means of questionnaires administered to patients, nurses and doctors at three
hospitals in iLembe region and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal –
Addington, King Edward VIII and Stanger Hospitals – that serve urban, rural and semirural
communities.
The study’s findings revealed that there is indeed, reason for concern with regard to the
identified service delivery goals and with regard to improving the health care system in
general. The findings show that there is a weak, non-significant, negative linear relationship
between the services offered at the three provincial hospitals compared with the expectations
of patients who were admitted to these hospitals during the time the research was conducted.
There is a need for further research regarding the interface between public sector provincial
hospital services and service delivery, and the quality of services offered by hospitals in order
to comply with Batho Pele Principles.
It is anticipated that the study’s recommendations will assist hospitals in the eThekwini Metro
and iLembe region in dealing with the challenges they face with regard to hospital service
delivery and the monitoring and evaluating of Batho Pele Principles in the quest for a more
efficient and effective delivery mandate.
Description
Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2012.
Keywords
Medical care--KwaZulu-Natal--Evaluation., Hospital care--KwaZulu-Natal--Evaluation., Public hosptials--KwaZulu-Natal--Administration--Evaluation., State hospitals--KwaZulu-Natal--Administration--Evaluation., Theses--Public administration.