Today I have the opportunity of sending a family member to a public hospital.
He had been referred to a private GP clinic and confirmed with dengue, thus swiftly recommended for further case management and expected to be hospitalised. All in ... the process completed in less than 20 minutes despite having to wait for our turn, blood sampling work & a quick check on the stool or s'thing.
When we reach the hospital, we quickly went to the Fever Centre that swiftly 'escalate' us to the next room for further check-up. The question is...we reach the 'Fever Centre' at 1:32pm. Now its 2:41pm. Since being escalated to the next room, nothing had happened.
Less than 4 patient had been managed since we walk into the next room.
At 2:42 according to the wall clock of the hospital, we were called in. And after 5 minutes of consultation we were escalated to ER for further tests.
The invaluable questions are:
a) what is the waiting time KPI
b) why does it take such a long time for the doctor to get to see the next waiting patient when the actual consultation duration is only about 5 minutes
c) Is there a proper and efficient duty handover process during personnel's shift transition period.
d) what kind of support is made available to doctors and patients in ensuring a smooth and swift case management and is it at the required 'quantity'
e) is there a 'culture' to swiftly resolve and escalate patient that is tagged starting from the entry point to the end.
From a simple perspective, a simple modified version of 5S methodology can be applied to resolve the issue. The original 5S is all about keeping the workplace clean, neat and organised. Make the patient as part of the items to be 5S...sort it, store it and bla bla. So that the patient
a) will not be a burden to the attending staff and doctor
b) can feel their needs and medical request is being managed efficiently
c) eliminate the source of complain to the hospital
d) can feel appreciated and thankful to the service consumed...
So that is my rumbling...for now..
