By Flata Kavinga
Newly appointed Kwekwe General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Tinashe Gunda says improving patient flow and the attitudes of health care personnel will be among his top priorities as he seeks to transform the institution into a patient-centred hospital that delivers quality health care.
In an interview, Dr Gunda said his vision is to make Kwekwe General Hospital a preferred health facility for residents of Kwekwe and surrounding communities through improved service delivery and infrastructure development.
“My overall vision for the hospital is to transform it into a favourite hospital for the community, one that offers quality, patient-centred services where people leave satisfied with the care they receive,” he said.
Dr Gunda said in his first year in office he will focus on two main areas: infrastructure development and service delivery reforms.
He said upgrading existing infrastructure and addressing gaps in critical facilities would go hand in hand with improving how services are delivered to patients.
On service delivery, the new medical superintendent said attention will be placed on improving patient flow within the hospital and addressing attitudes among health care workers to ensure patients receive quality care.
“The way we deliver services to the community should improve significantly, particularly in terms of quality,” he said. “We are focusing on improving patient flow and the attitudes of the health care delivery system so that everyone is geared towards providing better services.”
Dr Gunda said strengthening leadership, accountability and staff morale will be key to achieving the hospital’s goals. He said he intends to promote open communication and inclusive decision-making starting from management level down to departments.
“Leadership starts with me. I want to create an environment where everyone is heard and can communicate freely and that will cascade down through departmental meetings,” he said.
To improve staff morale, Dr Gunda said the hospital will place emphasis on recognising and appreciating good performance, not only focusing on mistakes.
“When staff do something commendable, we need to show appreciation. People work better in environments where they feel valued,” he said.
He added that staff will be involved in decision-making processes to promote ownership of policies and programmes, while accountability will be enforced across all areas of service delivery.
“We will make sure everyone is accountable for their actions as we review and improve every aspect of our service delivery,” Dr Gunda said.
