The Key Issues Affecting the Urology Department - Case Study Example

Introduction

In the healthcare sector, the delivery of quality services to the patients is crucial since it demonstrates the realization of the organization’s role and responsibility in the society. In the United Kingdom (UK), the National Health Service (NHS) plays an integral role in ensuring that healthcare institutions facilitate the delivery of health services in a way that improves the health status of the citizens as well as foreigners in the country (Cherry & Jacob, 2015, p. 65). However, some healthcare organizations face managerial and structural challenges that undermine the realization of the goals envisioned by the NHS.

Based on a case study, a particular Urology Department under the NHS system in England requires the development of several strategies to combat different managerial problems that undermine the efficiency of the healthcare facility. Notably, the case study reveals that issues such as the 1997 financial crisis and policies including the 1998 European Working Time Directive (EWTD) affected the management of several institutions of healthcare provision as seen in the case of the Urology Department. Consequently, tensions and conflicts among medical professionals and managers, poor communication, and lack of commitment to delivering quality services.

Therefore, the consideration of recommendations such as realizing a consensus between the disagreeing managers and clinicians, expanding the resources of the facility, efficient management of information, improving data collection for effective decision-making, fostering the adequacy of the medical staff is essential. As such, this paper seeks to identify the key issues affecting the Urology Department that require prompt attention. Besides, the paper would address the problem of staffing as one of the aspects that require close consideration for the attainment of managerial changes. Moreover, the integration of applicable theories that would facilitate an understanding of the situation and how to manage the change would be the focus of this paper.

The Key Issues that Require the Attention of the Urology Department

The Urology Department experiences an array of issues that undermine the efficiency of the healthcare organization management. Consequently, the issues also threaten the attainment of the goals and objectives of the NHS in England. Therefore, identifying the managerial problems in the Urology Department before prioritizing the solutions is vital for fostering the delivery of quality patient care services.

As demonstrated by the case study, the Urology Department experiences an array of problems that include inadequate staffing shortage, the tension between managers and clinicians, inadequate healthcare resources, failure to observe medical procedures strictly, and poor management of information. Additionally, lack of prompt response to issues that affect the organization demonstrates the organization’s laxity in dealing with matters that affect the functionality of the facility in a detrimental way. Collectively, the issues have created conflicts among different stakeholders in the healthcare facility that ought to observe the provisions of the NHS satisfactorily.

The identified issues affect the management’s functionality thereby leading to the ineffective delivery of healthcare services in addition to causing financial losses. In this regard, carrying out a detailed analysis of the issues that undermine the effective performance of the facility would foster an understanding of the issues that hinder the smooth management of a healthcare organization.

The Staffing Issue

The problem of effective human resources management is critical for any organization that seeks to facilitate the efficient delivery of its products or services to the clients (Aiken et al., 2014, p. 1826). Notably, the Urology Department faces a staffing challenge that prompts it to refer its clients to other health facilities thereby, undermining the profitability of the organization. As such, the five consultant surgeons in the facility demonstrate their inadequacy in facilitating healthcare delivery besides training junior doctors especially, during the nightshift. Therefore, the necessity for boosting the number of primary care and emergency unit clinicians is essential for sustaining the facility’s undertakings. Furthermore, the staffing issue portrays leadership flaws that undermine the realization of the health facility’s goals and objectives as demonstrated by its inability to cater for the health needs of its clients (McCann et al., 2015, pp. 775-778). Moreover, the trend has hindered the Urology Department's compliance with the EWTD.

Tension between Clinicians and Managers

The cropping tension between clinicians and managers due to the staffing issue besides other challenges experienced by the Urology Department has created managerial inefficiencies that undermine the organization’s success. The healthcare environment should be constituted by parties that share a mutual interest that fosters their commitment in the delivery of quality care services. Additionally, the issue of focusing on the cost-cutting aspect of healthcare operations has created disagreements undermines the quality of the care since the clinicians feel like they are being pressured to perform in an environment that lacks adequate resources Wang et al., 2013, pp. 524-526). Therefore, the management of conflicts in the Urology Department is a crucial issue for consideration that needs attention for the organization to streamline relationships, foster personal satisfaction, and spearhead organizational effectiveness.

Healthcare Resources Inadequacy

Inadequate resources in the healthcare setting hinder the delivery of quality services to the patients, and thus, put them at risk instead of alleviating them form their medical problems (Timbie et al., 2013, p. 680). Besides, the shortage and malfunctioning of the equipment put the safety of patients and clinicians at risk, significantly. With respect to the case study, the Urology Department has two 18-bed wards and two operating theaters. The facilities show inadequacy since the hospital refers its clients to other healthcare organizations. As such, the Urology Department depicts some resource inadequacy issues besides the small number of medical professionals in the organization. Therefore, the shortage of facilities in the Urology Department depress the efforts of consultant surgeons and doctors in a way that undermines their productivity.

Poor Information Management

The enhancement of patient care relies considerable on the quality of information management executed by the healthcare organization (Grol et al., 2013, p. 20). A streamlined information flow fosters active workflows by facilitating timely decision-making endeavors. A hospital environment that faces communication issues such as information overload that develops a disjuncture between information flow and workflow, the effectiveness of decision-making processes gets undermined. Notably, the issue of information overload affects the Urology Department negatively as emails sent by the executives regarding important issues rarely attains the attention of junior clinicians thereby, undermining communication efficiency. In this regard, ignoring the key messages that seek to streamline operations in the Urology Department requires consideration for the sake of promoting effective communication.

Failure to Observe the Appropriate Medical Procedures

The observation of appropriate medical procedures in the delivery of healthcare services is an integral aspect of fostering quality and safety (Cherry & Jacob, 2015, p. 69). In this regard, the in-patient and out-patient services offered by the healthcare facility ought to satisfy the required medical procedures involved in the diagnosis and treatment of health problems (Paré et al., 2014, pp. 549-551). As noted, the Urology Department faces regular cases of poor data collection procedures, and thus, undermine the importance of coding in the process of delivery services to patients. Consequently, the issue leads to the poor financial performance of the company in a way that affects the sustainability of the Urology Department.

Healthcare Management Theories

Since healthcare managers have the responsibility of administering different and multiple systems including hospitals and constituent departments, the consideration of management theories in the field is essential for bolstering success. The prevailing management theories applicable in the healthcare field include the attribution theory, patient centered management, and contingency and resource theories (Oborn, Barrett, & Racko, 2013, pp. 414-416). With regards to the case study, the Urology Department management could consider the integration of the mentioned theories to enhance the efficiency of its operations. Thus, reviewing the healthcare management theories critically is crucial in the context of this paper.

Patient-Centered Management

The changing perceptions regarding the patient care and the contemporary healthcare business setting has prompted healthcare facilities to value the essence of the patient-centered strategy to management. The patient-centered management theory uphold the delivery of high standard patient care attainable instead of the management’s consideration of cost-efficient and the easiest ways of supervision among other approaches that would foster the profitability of the hospital or healthcare facility (Denton, 2013, pp. 70-75). The theory also holds that a healthcare facility could realize desirable financial outcomes by observing medical and service excellence. Therefore, collaborating the efforts of different experts in the healthcare atmosphere allows them to focus on the attainment of patient-centered management.

Contingency and Resource Theories

The contingency theory argues for the flexibility of the management of an organization to enhance its ability to keep pace with the growing demands and responsibilities that prompt structural and procedural changes. The resources theory pairs the contingency theory by holding that organizations ought to use the available resources to deal with the changes that affect its functionality. For instance, changes in operating costs and staff changes requires the organization to use available resources to manage the changes. Therefore, both theories suggest that instead of allowing different forces to create tensions, organizations could incorporate management strategies founded on change.

The Attribution Theory

The attribution theory forms one of the fundamental management theories applicable in the healthcare environment. The theory focuses on the assessment and evaluation of a health organization’s success and failure of the implemented systems or programs. Mainly, the attribution theory provides a conceptual framework that managers in the healthcare sector could use to bolster the realization of safe and effective services to the patients besides fostering quality. Importantly, the attribution theory acknowledges the possibility of the occurrence of errors in the healthcare procedures, and thus, facilitate the creation of a positive working environment amid the possibility of errors.

Application of the Management Theories in the Urology Department

The patient-centered management theory, attribution theory, and the contingency and resource theories could significantly facilitate the realization of management changes in the Urology Department. The patient-centered theory would allow the managers to rethink their continued disagreements with the clinicians, and thus, discuss issues that undermine the realization of the organization’s goal. For this reason, the issue of staffing would be solved by recruiting more doctors among other medical professionals to facilitate the delivery of patient-centered care (Toussaint, & Berry, 2013, p. 75). The move would shift the focus away from securing financial gains to the satisfaction of patients who seek the services of the Urology Department

The attribution theory would allow the managers to acknowledge the possibility of the occurrence of errors in the healthcare environment that would, in turn, undermine the realization of quality service delivery and safety (Paré et al., 2014, pp. 552). Predetermination of errors ensures that corrective measures can be taken long before the actual problem arises. Thus, the data collection errors and procedural mistakes in the administration of healthcare services requires the Urology Department managers to shift their attention towards the creation of a positive working atmosphere. Additionally, the attribution theory would shade more light on the issue of information overload and other communication issues that affect the success of the organization.

Moreover, the application of the contingency and resource theories would foster effective management by considering the issues of staffing and resource inadequacy (Grol et al., 2013, p. 99). Therefore, the contingency theory could aid the managers to identify the essence of promoting the expansion of its physical and human resources amid the increasing demand for the facility’s services in England.

Conclusion

The case study reveals that the Urology Department experiences critical issues including staffing shortage, a tension between managers and clinicians, resource inadequacy, and poor information management. However, the issues of staffing and resource inadequacy have a significant impact on the functionality of the Urology Department. The management should steer changes in the facility by considering theories such as patient-centered management, the attribution theory, and the contingency and resources theories. In doing so, the Urology Department would facilitate the attainment of the NHS goals and objectives in England.