The role of organisational culture in healthcare service delivery: Case of Mengo Hospital

Abstract

Over the years, healthcare service delivery has faced massive challenges most of which are institutional or operational in nature. A number of interventions have been instituted by major stakeholders including government, donor agencies and private players to improve the way healthcare services are delivered to the final users. Before an external analysis is carried out on macro factors that affect the delivery of healthcare services, consideration should be given to micro factors that directly affect how services are delivered on a primary level. Among others, the key issues to be considered are the organisational factors in individual organisation or hospital. These factors include individual organisational members, the structures, systems and processes involved in extending the service to the end user. These factors are therefore bound together in what is referred to as organisational culture. In any organisation, the way people behave determines how they deliver the service to their clients. The values and beliefs of each individual form a basis for the organisational culture that the institution holds dear in ensuring services are delivered in a way that gives satisfaction. The culture among many healthcare institutions should focus on the needs of the patient and at the same time cater for the employees’ expectations. In most cases management structures leave a wide gap between the people who provide the service and those who manage organisational operations. It is from this background that this research aims at bridging the gap between what management sets to achieve in their mission and vision and the actual practices on ground and how the two can be synchronised to provide a quality healthcare services. The researcher used the cultural web to identify the factors in the organisation which emphasise its culture and how things are done in these institutions. Factors such as artefacts, routines and rituals, values and beliefs, historical events were analysed to find out how important they are in delivering healthcare services. Their utility in providing quality healthcare services are most a time ignored yet they can be key interventions in improving the way such services are delivered.