Mbabane: The modern world and first world decision making must be well informed with evidence based on facts and statistics.
This was said by the Director of Health Dr. Vusi Magagula during the Orientation of Media Houses on a Quality Management System that is set to be rolled out to hospitals and clinics by the Ministry of Health this year. The system will replace the old one – “U Report” that has always been used.
The system was designed with help from UNICEF with an investment of over 3 Million SZL, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Ministry of Health. Magagula said the system will be help to manage client feedback and collect data for proper evidence based planning and informed decision making on customer service and service delivery in clinics and hospitals.
Also speaking during the presentation Quality Management Programme Officer in the Ministry of Health, Thabang Masangane, said this will be an SMS based platform, feedback mechanism for health care service users.
The system will enable clients to provide real time feedback on the quality of health care services received at each of the health facilities to improve service delivery. The system will help hospitals and clinics with improved response to customer care, enhanced decision-making and increased efficiencies. With information readily available, doctors and nurses can effectively administer efficient clinical services.
Once the system is live Masangane said, people when visiting health facilities are expected to register their information in marked areas in hospital entrances. It is then expected that an hour later an SMS will be sent to their cellphones by the system with a few questions to respond to on the health facility they visited. According to Masangane the questions are structured in a way that will enable local hospital management to detect the quality of service offered by the facility and the manner the patients were treated.
The SMS based platform is also set to ease the burden and gradually replace existing suggestion box within health facilities which are sometimes not quickly attended to. Clients will also be able to send their feedback directly to the health facility by sending the heath facility name and their feedback directly to 2020.
Responding to questions if the system will help benefit elder people who are seen to be the highest users of health facilities, Quality Management Programme Officer in the Ministry of Health Thabang Masangane said the system will accommodate old people and the uneducated.
The overall goal is to improve the quality of health care service provision and customer satisfaction. The quality management system will also help strengthen linkages between clients and service providers in health facilities by providing information to service providers to be able to manage expectations of clients and enhances the provision of essential services and make timely programme adjustments through evidence based planning and decision-making mechanisms.
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