Our context, Guiding Principles

White paper for the transformation of Health services,

In 1997 the White paper for the transformation of Health services, noted the following with regard to hospital management.

Hospitals are severely under managed with limited responsibility and authority.
There are ineffective and inappropriate structures and systems of management.
There is insufficient operational authority or incentives for managers

On management capacity, the following strategies were proposed,

“Hospital management must be strengthened fundamentally. Only then can health resources spent on hospitals be reduced significantly, without seriously compromising the quality and accessibility of hospital care.
Management development and training for senior and mid-level managers will be strengthened. Such training and development will be immediately relevant to the work environment, and closely linked to the decentralisation process and the introduction of new methods and systems in hospitals.”

“The skills of managers at all levels should be developed if substantive health reform is to be sustained.
Heath service managers should be supported in acquiring the skills required to manage a decentralised health service”.
“The provincial health department will delegate significant decision making powers to hospital managers in order for them to exercise control and flexibility to manage daily operations”.

Health sector, Environment

In 2006/7 the Health expenditure is estimated at around R135 billion or 8 percent of GDP, of this R58 billion is spent in the public sector while R76 billion is spent in the private sector.

This multibillion industry will see stability in the private financing sector and increasing private sector medical aid cover.
In the public sector the hospital revitalization programme will include more hospitals in the large capital upgrading and rebuilding programme
Statistics South Africa notes an increase in communicable and chronic diseases. Mortality rate due to HIV and AIDS shows an increasing trend in particular among adults of 30-50 years.

All these above factors will put more pressure on the Management and Leadership in the Health sector .

Strategic objectives

Developing uniform standards for training of Hospital CEO’s throughout the country
Training adequate numbers of hospital CEO’s for managing public hospitals.
Development of hospital management as a recognised profession.
Developing leadership and managerial capacity amongst prospective and current hospital CEO’s.
Applying developed competencies to research, intervention, evaluation and policy development in hospital management environment.