Western Cape Government Health Embarks On Organisational Change

 In order to empower staff and change the organizational culture of the Western Cape Government Health, the Department appointed Ernst and Young as consultants to facilitate change in an innovative way. An exciting game plan has been developed with a league where similar institutions will compete against each other. Prize money of R60 000 has been set aside for each of the winning facilities.  The process has been ongoing for a year now, and starting to show results, the Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, told a media contingency at Khayelitsha Hospital today.

Minister Botha said the cost of the project for 2 years is R7.62 million. “We believe our staff is our most important asset, and they are at the frontline of engaging with patients every day. We realise that we have to equip them with the right tools, skills and techniques for personal development.”

The purpose of the programme is to change the organisational culture of the Department in an innovative way. The focus of the programme is on team work and re-enforcing the Department’s shared vision and values.  The process strives to support staff and offer them skills in their daily dealings with patients, often under very stressful circumstances. The programme recognises and rewards committed employees for going the extra mile. A good example is  where nursing staff arranged a wedding reception at the facility for a terminally ill patient who was not able to attend her son’s wedding.”

 The aim is to help staff to relieve stress, have fun and improve staff morale. The ultimate aim is to put patient satisfaction at the forefront, which is the vision of Healthcare 2030 - patient-centred, quality care.

Future interventions include workshops for champions, group coaching for management development, and a competition to award the facility where staff is bringing tangible results to the patient experience. In this month an innovation summit will be held for facilities to generate innovative ideas from staff on e.g. the dilemmas of lengthy waiting times. Surveys are distributed every month measuring the previous month’s progress, in order to see trends, improvements and weaknesses that require further intervention.    

Among the expected outcomes are a decrease in staff burn-out and absenteeism, which in turn will lead to improved staff morale, and improved communication between staff and patients and more satisfied patients. The long term objective for 2030 is to transform the Department through a sustainable change management strategy into an organization of which staff and patients will be proud.

Minister Botha said he was encouraged by the manner in which the facility managers and their teams have embraced the Change Management Programme, despite their heavy workloads on a daily basis. “But the positive effect on the patient experience will only become visible in the longer term.”

Due to the size and complexity of the Department, 38 of the Department’s facilities across the province were selected for the first phase of the organisational change project. The Department has decided to focus on the District Health Service where more than 90% of our patients are seen. The participating facilities range from CDCs and CHcs to district hospitals from both the rural and metro districts. This means the participating facilities comprise a total number of 6000 of the Department’s 32 000 employees. The Department will review the project at each stage, adapt where necessary and exapnd it to cover more facilities over time. The current participating facilities are, in alphabetical order:

Seven District hospitals in the Metro:

1. Eerste River Hospital
2. Helderberg Hospital, Somerset West
3. Karl Bremer Hospital, Bellville
4. Khayelitsha Hospital
5. Mitchell’s Plain Hospital
6. Victoria Hospital, Wynberg
7. Wesfleur Hospital, Atlantis

Ten District hospitals in the rural districts:

1. Beaufort West Hospital
2. Ceres Hospital
3. Hermanus Hospital
4. Knysna Hospital
5. Mossel Bay Hospital
6. Oudtshoorn Hospital
7. Stellenbosch Hospital
8. Swartland Hospital, Malmesbury
9. Vredenburg Hospital  
10. Vredendal Hospital

Nine Community Health Centres:

1. Delft CHC
2. Elsies River CHC
3. Gugulethu CHC
4. Hanover Park CHC
5. Khayelitsha Site B CHC
6. Kraaifontein CHC
7. Mitchell’s Plain CHC
8. Retreat CHC
9. Vanguard CHC

Twelve Community Day Centres:

1. Bishop Lavis CDC
2. Cross Roads CDC
3. Dr Abdurahman CDC, Athlone
4. Grabouw CDC
5. Heideveld CDC, Mitchell’s Plain
6. Kleinvlei CDC
7. Macassar CDC
8. Michael Mapongwana CDC, Khayelitsha
9. Robbie Nurock CDC, Cape Town
10. Wellington CDC
11. Woodstock CDC
12. Worcester CDC