Practice Analysis on Kingaroy Health Centre, North Queensland - Case Study Example

PRACTICE REPORT ON KINGAROY HEALTH CENTRE, NORTH QUEENSLAND. TABLE OF CONTENTS. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY………………………………………………………….1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….2 Organization analysis…………………………………………………………………2 The SPELT analysis…………………………………………………………………3 Social factors……………………………………………………………………….4 Political factors……………………………………………………………………...4 Economic factors…………………………………………………………………….5 Legal factors……………………………… ………………………………………5 Technological factors………… ……………………………………………………..5 SWOC Analysis……………………………………………………………………….7 Strength……………………………………………………………………………….7 Weaknesses……………………………………………………………………………8 Opportunities………………………………………………………………………….9 Challenges…………………………………………………………………………….10 CONCLUSSION……………………………………………………………………..10 RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………….10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. The strategic plan will help Kingaroy hospital build on their weaknesses and Challenges that they face in their environment. A look at the mission statement and the core values of the hospital has also been done in the report. Critical analysis has been done by the use of Pestel model and SWOC (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Challenges) model developed by Berend and Crinall. In the report, it has been noticed that government support is limited to the facility. Financial constraints have hindered technological advancement as the hospital has inadequate funds to acquire the new machines. The report will enable the hospital to identify the areas where loopholes exist and actions to be taken. Finally, it has also given recommendations on that may help the managers improve the status of the hospital to higher heights. Fundamental strategies have also been highlighted in the report to assist. INTRODUCTION. Hospitals operate in unstable environments just like other businesses. Doctors as professionals also face challenges just like any other business owner (Fetherstonhaugh, Nay & Winbolt, 2013). These challenges if not addressed might profoundly affect the operations of these medical institutions since they may hinder professionalism. In the health sector, many factors have been noted that impact on the practice of health provision in the different levels hospitals in the country. Relevant strategies are needed by the government and the private sector to help elevate the quality of health services in our hospitals (Health and aged care in Australia, 1999). Organizational analysis. Kingaroy Hospital is a public health center with admission capacity of fewer than 50 beds. It is a regional health provider that offers emergency services and minor surgeries to mainly the local community in Kingaroy. The hospital has a vision to be trusted to deliver in both rural and regional healthcare. The health Centre has a purpose of delivering quality healthcare in partnership with the surrounding community. Under the vision statement, the hospital has four key strategic plans to help achieve. They include Delivery of quality healthcare services Ensure availability of suitable resources. Provide clear processes in obtaining healthcare. Ensure that staffs are dedicated and well trained. Kingaroy hospital is also guided by values that help instill professionalism in their services, the values include; Caring– Caring for each other and caring about the service provided. Doing the right thing– Respecting the people served and tried to do the best. Treating each other respectfully and having the observance of the law and standards. Openness to learning and change– continually reviewing practice and the services provided. Being safe, effective and efficient– By measuring and owning individual performance and using this information to inform ways of improving services. Being open and transparent– Working for the public, informing and consulting with the patients, clients, staff, stakeholders, and community. The SPELT analysis. External environment constitute forces outside the organization that affects its operations either directly or indirectly (Hoffmann, Bennett and Del Mar, 2013). The business may have little or no control over them. As highlighted in the PESTEL model, Kingaroy hospital operates in the following externalities. Social factors This is either beliefs or behaviors of the community in Kingaroy. With the changing lifestyle of the youths in this 21st century; many lifestyle diseases caused by beauty chemicals have increased leading to pressure on the hospital. Attitudes and cultures of the people have also impacted on the hospital since increased compliance with drugs has made some diseases resistant to their medication. The increased drugs and substance abuse in the area has also led to increased health complications within the youths in the community. This, in turn, makes the hospital unable to handle since there isn’t capacity to cater for related mental diseases (Dyck, Lewis and McLafferty, 2011). Increased use of alternative medicine has also led to poor health outcomes and in turn leading to higher cost of managing such complications by the hospital. Finally, with the increased life expectancy levels witnessed in Australia, Old age related diseases have increased instituting pressure on the hospital. Political unrest Political turmoil refers to frequently witnessed riots and violence seen in the country due to political instability and power struggles (Mayhew and Peterson, 2010). This impact negatively on Kingaroy Hospital and other hospitals negatively. Political unrest leads to The strain on resources -since it leads to cut or unstable supply of resources to be used in the hospital. This strain interferes with service provision in the hospital. Uncertainty in donor funding -Political riots and unrest witnessed in Australia impact negatively in the donor’s willingness to invest in our organizations and hospitals. This, in turn, gives a negative impact on quality of services in Kingaroy hospital. Delay in project implementation-Projects are only implemented when conditions are safe and stable political riots delays implementations of hospital projects like putting up a new ward. Economic factors. Economic factors impact on Kingaroy hospital negatively. The high inflation rate has led to increased operation costs of the hospital (Health research, 2013). . It has also instituted frequent disruption of procurement plans of the hospital since budgets have to be readjusted after a very short period. The hospital is also straining to meet it recurrent expenditures due to losing of value of our currency. Higher poverty in the area caused by inflation has also increased disease burden since patients are not in a position to meet the cost of services (Unimin acquires Kingaroy Kaolin, 2012). Revenue targeted by the hospital can also be achieved since most patients are poor. Hence, they can’t afford the health services hence resolve in alternative means like herbal (Bruder, 2013). To add to this factor, it has led to inadequate budget apportion from the national government. The government has concentrated on larger hospitals in Sydney. This factor, in turn, has facilitated poor service delivery by the hospitals. Environment factors. Environmental factors such as poor waste management lead to increased demand for health services in the hospital ("Exploring regionalism in public management reforms: the case of the Italian hospital sector", 2015). Since the hospital has an inadequate capacity of admission, this will lead to overcrowding in the wards. Poor waste management like irresponsible disposal of wastes creates increased costs of waste management. Besides, it facilitates changing patterns of different diseases and hence inabilities of the doctors to tame the diseases. Poor waste disposal in Kingaroy also causes water and air pollution. This leads to increased disease burden on the hospital. Communicable diseases also increase with increased wastes. Legal factors. Legal factors are the laid down laws that govern the health sector (Caltabiano and Ricciardelli, 2013). Revised labor laws have improved employees satisfaction in their work (Foster and Fleming, 2008). Workers can also execute their mandate responsibly hence an increased healthcare services. The framework has also improved the employees working conditions and environment. A comfortable working condition has boosted their morale in their job (Gauld, 2005). Technological factors. With the fast changing technological advances in the health sector, hospitals need to embrace the new developments to tame the emerging diseases (Snape, 2013). Even though technology has led to improved service delivery, smaller health centers like Kingaroy hospital have been more disadvantaged since they have to go through financial constraint to afford the machines. The hospital is also forced to acquire skilled personnel who may be expensive to pay. Adaptation to the costs of replacing the equipment since some of them get obsolete very fast and may turn more expensive in the long run. Positively, the introduction of a modern form of energy to be used in the hospital has helped reduce the cost of power in the hospital (Review of Australia's health sector response to pandemic (H1N1) 2009, 2011). SWOC Analysis. This is the analysis of Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Challenges facing an organization. This model gives clear illustrations of these factors and their effects (Berends and Crinall, 2014). Kingaroy hospital. Strengths Strategic location of the hospital. Being located in the heart of Kingaroy, the hospital is centrally placed to serve the community with ease. The hospital has a good road access and communication infrastructure that enhances its accessibility. Highly qualified personnel With a vast pool of nurses in the hospital, it can carry out their obligations well. Qualified Doctors from the universities and training colleges in Australia provides the hospital with the required expertise. Training and research. The management has always provided ample training and research to expand their knowledge and skills. These training ensure that the staff is well equipped with the necessary techniques for their jobs. Good leadership and Managing team. An excellent management team led by the directors ensures that the hospital is well run. With a strong team, the hospital is in a position to execute its services well without any strain from the lapse in management. Bulk purchasing Purchases of drugs and stationery are made in bulk, and this ensures the hospital receive discounts and samples. Bulk buying also helps create a good rapport with the sellers and results in ability to receive credit extensions. Weaknesses Poor customer relations With a weak customer relation department, the relationship between the community and the hospital has deteriorated. This weakness has given the hospital a bad image since the community feels it’s expensive. Shortage of specialized skills Since the hospital is a medium sized health center, it has limited finance to fund specialized Doctors and machinery. Some specialized personnel is also walking out due to higher opportunities in bigger hospitals. Corruption. Corruption has been a menace in the public sector as a whole. In 2014, Kingaroy reported a lapse in revenue due to corrupt dealings from managers and dishonest staff. Low ICT uptake. Incredible ICT goes hand in hand with real financial muscle and skilled manpower to operate the machines. This is not available for Kingaroy hospital. Opportunities Expansion potential With the good location with ample space, Kingaroy hospital has a large space for structural expansion. The hospital has also shown an improvement in revenue collection, and this may help them embrace technological advancement. Available professional network The government has improved the allocation of professionals in the institution. Qualified medics have been increased to serve the increasing numbers. Support by Government. The government has increased their support to the hospital by employing more professionals and technicians. The government has also raised funds to the hospital. Challenges Low take on a medical cover. The high rate of bad debts from medical cover firms has seriously challenged the hospital. It has seriously affected their financial plan. Litigation. The lawsuits have impacted negatively on the corporate image of the hospital. The hospital has also lost funds from loss of legal suits. CONCLUSION. Kingaroy hospital has more opportunities and strength at their disposal. The management needs to bank on these opportunities to improve the hospital performance. The health facing only lacks a healthy long strategic plan that may be used to execute development. A good strategic plan will ensure timely events in the health center. Government support is also weak and with this, the management has a difficulty in managing the hospital. RECOMMENDATIONS. For the hospital to advance from being a medium hospital, the following should be looked into; Embrace a corporate balance score card. A corporate strategic map is necessary that will give a clear synopsis of strategies. There should be a bi-annual audit to enhance service delivery. The manager should set up a strong customer relation team to improve on their relationship. References Berends, L., Crinall, K. (2014). Management and practice in health and human service organisations. Australia, Oxford University Press, pp. 118-141. Fetherstonhaugh, D., Nay, R., & Winbolt, M. (2013). 'Evidence-based Health Care' in P. Foster, M., Fleming, J. (2008). 'The Health Care System in Australia', in S. Taylor, M. Foster & J. Fleming (eds), Health Care practice in Australia, Melbourne, Australia, Oxford University Press. pp. 46-73. Hoffmann, T., Bennett, S., Del Mar, C. (2013). 'Introduction to evidence-based practice' in T. Hoffmann, S. Bennett, & C. Del Mar (eds), Evidence -based practice across the health Professions (2nd ed.), Australia, Elsevier. Pp.1-16. Liamputtong (ed), Research methods in health. Foundations for evidence-based practice, (2nd ed), Australia, Oxford University Press. pp. 252-265. 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