Assessment of quality of care for children in selected hospitals in ...

Assessment of quality of care for children in selected hospitals in GhanaThe management at one facility said that to help offset the economic burden on caretakers,prescribers often tried to stay within the limits of the insurance benefits package. Somehospitals employed social workers to make arrangements with non‐insured clients for thepayment of hospital fees by instalments. In most cases, hospitals made a loss because thecaretakers failed to pay for services received.Traditional medicineSome of the caretakers who were interviewed first visited traditional medicine practitionersprior to reporting to hospital thus causing delays in treatment. The managers of one facilityreported, “The people are generally superstitious, so they prefer herbalists. Interestingly, most ofthose who patronize [their] services are insured, but they prefer to use herbal preparations alongsideorthodox medicine”.The experiences of caretakers in the outpatients’ department (OPD)Positives• Staff‐patient relationships were good.• The reception given at the OPD was warm.• Prompt attention was given to children and, in emergency situations, treatment wasgiven before payment was demanded or before the folder was retrieved regardless ofinsurance status.• Staff took their time to explain procedures to caretakers and generally exercisedpatience in their interactions. Caretakers were reassured of their child’s survival.• In some cases, the waiting time was pleasantly short and, in cases where the childhad high temperature, they were sponged down prior to seeing the prescriber.Page 22