Assessment of how the current district surgeon's services can be transformed for cost effectiveness and efficiency in the North West Province

Abstract

This research intended to assess the services provided by the current district surgeons in the North West Province with the view of suggesting ways of transforming these services to be cost effective and efficient. The study involved a review and analysis of the services provided by the district surgeons in the province and whether or not the managers who pay for the services were satisfied with the provision of service by the district surgeons. The techniques used to collect data in this study were structured interviews for district surgeons and questionnaires for district managers. Semi structured interviews were conducted with participants who are knowledgeable about the policy governing the services provided by the district surgeons. The data collected revealed that there was a general dissatisfaction among district managers about the services provided by the district surgeons. One of the major complaints was that the district surgeons did not attend to the victims of crime immediately. In fact there were cases where the district surgeons would not turn up after promising that he would. The level of efficiency in the provision of services was very low. In terms of cost effectiveness, the number of patients that the surgeons saw were too low and therefore did not justify the fees that the district managers paid them. Further, the medication provided by the district managers was not controlled and could therefore be used for purposes other than the ones intended. The conclusion drawn from the presented data was that there was a serious need for transformation of the current services. The recommendations drawn from this study are that efficiency and cost effectiveness should be improved by using government employed health providers and monitoring and evaluating the provision of district surgeon services. The research study concludes that the service of district surgeons must be transformed to make the service accessible, effective through capacity building, appropriate evaluation and monitoring of the service to ensure quality of care and value for money.