Recently, I reluctantly accompanied a relative to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) to address her problematic tooth. Frankly, the mere mention of this referral hospital did not evoke any positive feeling in me, given my previous experience with public hospitals.
Not too long ago, visiting public referral hospitals like KCH was not for the faint-hearted. Scenes of stray dogs and crows scavenging on leftovers and the pungent smells that greeted you upon entering the premises were not uncommon.
To my surprise, on this day, I was amazed by the warm reception we received from the reception area to meeting the dental specialist. It took me some time to accept that, indeed, I was at a public hospital.
As I entered the premises, I could feel the ambiance and aroma of pine gel, which gave me the impression that the place had just been cleaned. The cleanliness of the wards and corridors exceeded my expectations.
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I also couldn’t help but admire the well-tended surroundings despite ongoing construction works at the facility. It seems even the staff manning the checkpoints are well versed in customer service protocols, which is not typical of public service entities, which are, otherwise, known for poor customer care and service delivery.
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Upon arrival, the receptionist politely explained why it was necessary for us to first visit a primary healthcare facility within our vicinity before coming to KCH. These primary healthcare facilities, which are often resource constrained, are the ones that refer patients to the central hospital.
However, I explained to her that due to the relative’s pain, we had no choice but to “bypass” the protocols.
We were then asked to pay a “bypass fee”– a charge for seeking treatment directly from the hospital level as a deterrent for bypassing primary healthcare facilities. I was reliably informed that the introduction of bypass fees aims to discourage walk-in-patients and ease congestion at referral hospital level.
One could also easily feel the positive attitude of nurses, doctors and support staff. The dental department we were referred to accorded us some excellent customer care services.
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The hospital has recently undergone significant renovations, as evidenced by the existing and mushrooming infrastructure at the health facility, not to mention the double-lane road and the interchange facility under construction a stone-throw from the central hospital.
It is encouraging to see that despite the poor reputation of many public hospitals over the years, some hospitals are striving to deliver quality services within resource constrained environments.
It is also worth acknowledging that there are other public hospitals that are performing equally well.
However, there are lessons that ministries, departments and agencies and other service delivery entities can learn from KCH.
Firstly, it seems that the appointing authorities have proper recruitment procedures for selecting staff to lead this only public referral hospital in Malawi’s bustling capital city.
Secondly, while there may be numerous public reform initiatives aimed at improving service delivery in public hospitals and various government entities, reforms alone may be meaningless without good work ethics.
A week ago, perhaps irked by the laissez faire attitude towards work among public officers, Vice President Michael Usi made a surprise visit to some government offices in Chikwawa, including the district’s hospital, where he confronted officials regarding their punctuality and work ethic.
However, apart from these surprise visits, there is a need to put in place proper systems for checking controlling officers. It is also time for the government to revisit the system of rewards in public service to ensure workers are rewarded accordingly.
