Perceptions of Nurse Managers regarding Clinical Relicensing Audits at Private Hospitals

Abstract

The National Health Insurance (NHI) in South Africa aims to provide access to quality health services for all South Africans. The NHI will only accredit and contract eligible health facilities that meet nationally approved quality standards both in the public and private sector. Detailed tools for measuring compliance with the National Core Standards (NCS) and Batho Pele principles have been developed and implemented in the public sector. To date and since its implementation in the public sector, very little is known about the national audit tool and the method used to evaluate quality and patient safety standards in private hospitals in the eThekwini district, South Africa. The aim of the study was therefore to assess nurse managers’ perceptions regarding the clinical relicensing audits performed at selected private hospitals in the eThekwini district. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design using an interview guide was used to conduct the study. The group of hospitals (N = 4) studied has approximately 40 clinical managers who were sampled for the study. A total of 24 nurse managers were interviewed, guided by data saturation. The results of the study showed that the selected private hospitals in the eThekwini district have not fully implemented the approach to clinical practice standards and healthcare audits in relation to the three clinical domains of the NCS, namely patient rights, patient safety and clinical care, and clinical support services, and the Batho Pele principles. Recommendations are for the internal and external factors influencing the national audit process to be dealt with based on the results of the study.