Regionalization of health services in the Cape Province : a framework
type: CreativeWork
description: Post-graduate students specializing in Community Health, are attached to different health authorities during their training. During these attachments they are exposed to the day-to-day management of health services and experience at first hand, the difficulties as well as the successes that are encountered in tending to the health needs of communities. It is also expected that post-graduate students do research projects during their attachments, usually on topics on which the health services managers need information. The topic discussed in this report was an assignment given to the author at the start of his attachment to the department of Hospital (Health) Services of the Cape Provincial Administration. The period of attachment was from February to May 1987. The whole question of the regionalization of health services is a complex one, and it is necessary that any proposals for a system of regionalization benefit from the inputs of many experts in different fields. However, as has been the experience in the United States of America, such inputs are no guarantee -that a successful system of regionalization will result. (1) In the local front, the Department of Works, at the request of the Director of Hospital Services, began an investigation into the existing system of regionalization of hospital services in 1985. This attempt was aborted, possibly because of the magnitude of the task, among other things. (2). What follows hereafter should therefore be seen as merely a framework for the development of a system of regionalization rather than as a blueprint for such a system. Perhaps a few remarks about the age-old problem of line-staff conflict would not be amiss at this stage. During the development of this framework, it became apparent that line officials might be expecting a quick proposal of regions and/ or sub-regions for the delivery of health services based on a purely management approach. As a staff official, the author naturally had different expectations. …
abstract: Post-graduate students specializing in Community Health, are attached to different health authorities during their training. During these attachments they are exposed to the day-to-day management of health services and experience at first hand, the difficulties as well as the successes that are encountered in tending to the health needs of communities. It is also expected that post-graduate students do research projects during their attachments, usually on topics on which the health services managers need information. The topic discussed in this report was an assignment given to the author at the start of his attachment to the department of Hospital (Health) Services of the Cape Provincial Administration. The period of attachment was from February to May 1987. The whole question of the regionalization of health services is a complex one, and it is necessary that any proposals for a system of regionalization benefit from the inputs of many experts in different fields. However, as has been the experience in the United States of America, such inputs are no guarantee -that a successful system of regionalization will result. (1) In the local front, the Department of Works, at the request of the Director of Hospital Services, began an investigation into the existing system of regionalization of hospital services in 1985. This attempt was aborted, possibly because of the magnitude of the task, among other things. (2). What follows hereafter should therefore be seen as merely a framework for the development of a system of regionalization rather than as a blueprint for such a system. Perhaps a few remarks about the age-old problem of line-staff conflict would not be amiss at this stage. During the development of this framework, it became apparent that line officials might be expecting a quick proposal of regions and/ or sub-regions for the delivery of health services based on a purely management approach. As a staff official, the author naturally had different expectations. …
author: Pick, William M
language: eng
date published: 1989
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:33Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Public Health and Family Medicine

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27193