By Alicia Mmashakana
Gauteng is the most populous province and as result, there are often long queues at its public hospitals and clinics.
In order to speed up waiting times, a queue management system has been launched at the second hospital in the province, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. It serves an estimated population of 2,858,606.
“We are taking a step towards improving patient experience in our healthcare facilities,” Gauteng health and wellness MEC Nomuntu Nkomo-Ralehoko said at the launch on Wednesday.
The first hospital to get the Integrated Patient Queue Management System was the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Coronationville in the city.
The MEC said that so far 715 patients had been serviced through the system.
The software is designed to enable hospital staff to monitor and control patient flow to streamline the check-in process and ensure that everyone is served in an orderly manner. It introduces a standard booking system via a user-friendly app that integrates SA ID and passport links.
The token management system, consisting of self-help kiosks, will be installed to manage various queue types, including regular walk-in patients, appointment patients and emergency patients.
This will include the installation of 13 kiosks throughout various departments to facilitate the new queue management system.
“Our hard-working healthcare workers can use the system to automate administrative tasks, thus reducing the workload stress and allow staff to focus more on providing medical care to patients,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.
“We believe that this will lead to increase job satisfaction for our dedicated doctors and nurses.”
She said the system would be introduced to other facilities.
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