Evaluation of the radiology unit at Lehurutshe Hospital in the North West Province
Date
2012-01-10
Authors
Moloko, Sedie Josephine
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lehurutshe Hospital is a district hospital situated in rural North
West Province of South Africa. The Hospital offers basic radiological services such
as X-rays of the chest, abdomen, extremities and skull according to the norms and
standards set by the National Department of Health for a level one hospital.
According to 2008/2009 data from the Hospital, it is evident that the number of
patients requiring radiology services is increasing. However, no systematic study has
been done to determine the reasons and effects of this increasing caseload on the
Radiology Unit of the Hospital. This study seeks to establish the caseload and the
resources utilised for the services rendered by the Radiology Unit in Lehurutshe
Hospital with specific focus on the patient profile and material and human resources
utilisation.
AIM: To assess the utilization of the Radiology Unit at Lehurutshe Hospital in terms
of caseload, profile of patients, and resource utilization from 01 January to 31
December 2009
METHODOLOGY: This was a cross sectional study. The setting was the Radiology
Unit of the Lehurutshe Hospital in Zeerust town, Ngaka Modiri Molema District in the
North West Province. A retrospective record review was done and information was
extracted from the Hospital information system on various variables that are relevant
to the functions and resource utilization of the Radiology Unit, including caseload,
profile of patients, resource utilization and workload of staff. No primary data was
collected.
RESULTS: The study found that more than 5000 patients were seen and radiological
examinations were done during this period with a total number of public patients
being significantly higher than private patients. Nearly 500 radiological examinations
were done per month. The wide variation in the number of examinations done per
month was probably due to seasonality, which may affect operational planning and
inventory management at the Unit. Almost 50% of the radiological examinations
were chest X-rays. Other examinations include X-ray of the upper and lower
extremities and ultrasound examination for obstetrics and gynaecology. These
examinations were done based on various clinical indications. A significant number of public patients seen at the Unit were infants, children and
teenagers. The private patients were from an older age group. The majority of patient
were unemployed and indigent.
The material resources used in the Unit includes X-ray films, chemicals (developers
and fixers) and ultrasound gel. The Unit has two radiographer and one radiographer
assistant. In addition, a medical doctor read the X-rays as and when necessary. The
direct costs incurred at the unit include use of material resources, maintenance of
equipments (service contract) and compensation of employees. Total direct cost
during the study period was R 650 803.89, most of which were incurred due to
compensation of employees and maintenance of radiological equipments. Patient to
staff ratio at the unit was quiet low and it shows there is spare capacity at the Unit,
which could easily be used for income generation by the provision of services to
private patients.
CONCLUSION: This is probably the first study conducted at a radiology unit of a
district hospital in South Africa. This study documented important information, which
was not published before.