Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
INVITATION TO MEDIA GAUTENG HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S SERVICE EXCELLENCE CONFERENCE
Quality service to the public is the obvious, but hard-to-achieve, purpose of major government departments.
It is particularly challenging in the health service, where contact with out customers is of a specially personal kind; where it often takes place in emergency conditions; and where patients are frequently very dependent on the professional health worker.
The national Batho Pele campaign for customer-centred service takes on a special character in relation to health, where quality service must combine:
The Gauteng Department of Health is holding a special three-day conference this week to take a in-depth look at how to improve the quality of our services.
The Khanyisa Conference on Service Excellence starts on Wednesday September 30 at 8h30 ad continues until to 14h00 on Friday October 2.
About 250 managers and senior clinicians will participate in the three-day meeting which, it is hoped, will serve as a spring-board for the launch of practical strategies for more effective service delivery.
"More and more, members of the public are voicing the demand for quality service from government," comments Dr Laetitia Rispel, chief director for strategic management in the Gauteng Health Department.
"We cannot hope to meet these public expectations unless we put better service delivery right at the centre of our transformation plans."
The conference has been designed to assist participants in:
"It would be naive to ignore the constraints and pressures which make it difficult to sustain quality care in the public sector," says Dr Rispel. "But there are many initiatives in our institutions which prove service excellence is viable in government-run hospitals and clinics. Our aim is to make sure that it is not simply viable - but that it begins to flourish."
Members of the media are welcome to attend the three morning sessions of the conference where delegates meet in plenary session. The afternoon workshops will not be open to the media, as we would like delegates to feel unconstrained in their deliberations.
Your are also invited to a function at 18h00 on Thursday October 1, when the MEC for Health will launch annual awards for service excellence.
No prior notification of attendance by journalists is necessary. Just check in at the registration desk when you arrive.
PROGRAMME
Wednesday September 30
8h30 Opening address by the MEC for Health, Mr Mondli Gungubele 9h10 A responsive public health service, Dr Gwen Ramakgopa, Chair of the Gauteng Standing Committee on Health 9h30 Total quality management: A paradigm shift, Professor William Pick and Professor Joe Veriawa of Wits University Medical School
TEA
10h30 Creating a quality culture, Mr S Sidloyi of the Department of Public Administration 11h15 Customer service strategies for leaving the competition behind. Ms L Kasselman of Vodacom
Thursday October 1
8h30 Implementing quality initiatives in health: Experiences from the UK, Ms Anne Williams of Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust, England 9h15 Demonstrating quality leadership in support of customer service, Roy Nolan of Eskom
TEA
10h30 Implementing service excellence in the face of service constraints, Dr Gill Hurst of Addington Hospital in Durban 11h15 Information management & technology - a tool for bench-marking, Ms Luci Abrahams, head of national Department of Welfare
Friday October 2
8h30 Summary input: Emerging themes and key recommendations, Dr Laetitia Rispel of Gauteng Department of Health 9h00 Reflection for implementation, Ms Anne Williams (UK)
Small group discussions follow until 12h00, when there is a report back with ratification of decisions.
Released by the Directorate for Health Promotion & Communications
More information from: Jo-Anne Collinge (082 574 5510) Lebo Taunyane (011 355 3876)