The Southern Regional Health Authority has been making strides in developing a service-oriented environment focused on improving customer service within its facilities and has recently introduced Customer Service Units with a total of 18 employees.
SRHA Regional Director, Mr. Michael Bent noted that the Customer Service Representatives commenced employment on October 5 at the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester and the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon. He added that these units will be introduced in the other hospitals and some health centres in the region at a later date.
Mr. Bent explained that the officers will provide direct assistance to clients in various service areas while implementing systems for the effective management of each client. Other responsibilities include ensuring that patients with special needs are given the necessary support within established policies and also monitoring of waiting time and impediments so as to intervene where possible.
Chairman of the Southern Regional Health Authority Board, Mr. Wayne Chen encouraged the officers to provide superior customer service noting that patients should be treated as customers and be shown empathy at all times.
“Healthcare is a calling. Too many of us see what we do as a job rather than a calling as there is a big difference between the two. Recall what brought us into healthcare-was it to take care of people or was it just a job? Remember customer service is not a department, it is an attitude. Let us be the change” he urged the officers.
The officers received extensive orientation in areas including excellence in service; client complaints mechanism; social work in health; customer service; professional ethics; teamwork; accident and emergency services and Human Resources policies and procedures.
Some of the other initiatives that the SRHA has embarked on to improve
the level of customer service within its hospitals and health centres include the training of staff at different levels in customer service and the implementation of a Customer Charter which aims to improve the quality of service offered by the Hospitals.
