P/Bag X701 Port Shepstone 4240
Tel: +27 (0) 39 687 7311
Fax: +27 (0) 39 687 7497
Email: silindile.mabaso@kznhealth.gov.za
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MURCHISON HOSPITAL P/Bag X701 Port Shepstone 4240 Tel: +27 (0) 39 687 7311 Fax: +27 (0) 39 687 7497 Email: silindile.mabaso@kznhealth.gov.za |
Murchison's Reward for Golden Service
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Murchison Hospital was proud to
receive the coveted Premier’s Good Governance Gold award at the ICC in
Durban on 7/11/2003. Putting People First has been a priority in this hospital since even before the release of the Government’s White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery. In 1996 they made a conscious decision to move from a bureaucratic top-down culture where customers did not feature to an organization where staff, patients and the community are invited to join hands alongside management. The hospital’s attitude and accountability to the community has undergone a radical change
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"A reputation as a ‘community friendly’ hospital was simply not enough. More
needed to be done and awareness campaigns were undertaken to ensure that the
community knows its responsibilities and rights regarding the hospital.
Even criticism is welcomed, analysed and used as a tool to improve the
service. All staff are made to clearly understand that their primary
accountability is to the communities they serve,” said Dr Terry
Gilpin, Medical Manager.
Having won a Silver Award last year, Murchison has continued to display this
commitment to service excellence with numerous improvements being made since
their last entry. | |
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Through their questionnaires, workshops, suggestion boxes and regular meetings, they
have an excellent three-way communication system between staff, management
and customers, and a
wonderfully participative style of leadership.
 A strong community focus is also evident in the HIV-Aids support center which helps to co-ordinate treatment and dissemination of information vital to the well-being of its patients and the community at large. Linked with hospice and offering home-based care, the center extends
a compassionate and guiding hand that reaches beyond the hospital |
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Numerous partnerships formed with other hospitals, clinics, local churches, NGO’s business, schools (the list is endless) are paying off in terms of improved services. Examples are Wheelchairs KZN donated wheelchairs, local church members trained as AIDS counselors, Nestle donated shakers for mixing baby formula, Irish Christian Foundation donated hearing aids, private individuals and schools collected and donated toys. |
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Also nearing completion is the new Pharmacy, which will help to reduce waiting times, one of the most common complaints. But when there is a need, they do not wait for the bureaucracy to kick in, instead they carry out the necessary adjustments themselves either in-house or through acquiring donor funding, examples include:
A Help Desk has been set up in OPD where patients are assisted and screened prior to being referred to the relevant department and given information on Batho Pele and common ailments (their causes and treatment). This has greatly reduced waiting times and ensured that critically ill patients are given priority treatment and at the same time ensuring that patients are aware of their rights to quality care. Murchison is a truly disabled friendly hospital. Doorways have been widened to provide easy access for the wheelchair bound, as well as ramps and handrails for the elderly and frail, and special disabled toilets have been built.
Signage is bright and clear and illiterate visitors are guided by
the “izinyawo” – painted feet that point them in the right
direction. |
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The hospital ensures that it recognizes and rewards excellence among its staff. And staff are encouraged to improve their qualifications, develop new careers, and junior members are encouraged to scale new heights. This visionary attitude has gifted Murchison with a catalogue of career success stories that reads like a fairytale … the clerk who became an administrator, or the assistant who became an enrolled nurse. They are also proud employers of the lady voted Nurse of the year (Babongile Cele) for all hospitals in the province. Staff are trained in “Excellent Customer Care” and Batho Pele is a standing item on the agenda at all meetings. Their management of TB and HIV has propelled them to the forefront, with their TB programme rated as the best in the country. They have also received an Impumelelo award for the HIV/AIDS center. Here in the corridors of Murchison, Batho Pele is alive and well. Whatever its magic, the spirit of humanitarianism, enthusiasm, productivity and team spirit appear to inspire staff to reach new heights. Compassion and care have been key words in these halls of service excellence, and patients are now ululating to a new song of praise: “Murchison is MY hospital!” Article by Mrs. J. Le Roux |
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