Assessment of the stores records management at Kawolo Hospital

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the store records management at Kawolo Hospital. The specific objectives were to establish the type of stores records created and maintained at Kawolo Hospital, examine the stores records management practices at Kawolo Hospital, establish the challenges associated with stores records management at Kawolo Hospital, and propose strategies to improve the stores records management at Kawolo Hospital. The study applied both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Data was collected from 26 respondents, including records staff, stores managers, nurses, and medical staff. It was found that stores’ ledger cards were the most managed types of records, followed by weekly summary sheets, goods received sheets, weekly stock returns, issue and receipt vouchers, material transfer notes, and lastly bin cards. The various stores records management practices at Kawolo Hospital included records creation, records processing/documentation, records storage and maintenance, records access and retrieval, records retention and disposition, and appropriate use of technology to manage records. The major challenges associated with records management at Kawolo Hospital included unskilled personnel, rejection of some of the electronic information systems, computer breakdowns, lack of staff sensitization, and technological obsolescence, among others, as detailed in objective four in chapter four of the study. It is recommended that to improve the stores record management at Kawolo Hospital, more funds should be allocated to the records department; more trained records staff should be employed; records storage and retrieval systems should be automated; and a records management program should be developed to improve the records filing system. Further, the study recommended that policies, strategies, and decisions to positively support and guide the proper implementation and usage of a digital records management system should be prioritized.