Bandela Mgoqi, pharmacy manager at Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Atteridgeville.
Health-care manager Bandela Mgoqi has a commitment to provide high-quality services to patients due to his position.
Mgoqi has been challenged to be creative and innovative in order to improve the patient experience.
Having been appointed pharmacy manager at Kalafong Provincial Tertiary Hospital in Atteridgeville in May 2023, Mgoqi has implemented several initiatives to reduce patient waiting time.
The facility, which dispenses medicine to about 20 to 25 000 patients a month across the main pharmacy, immunology pharmacy and outpatient department pharmacy, which previously operated from 7.30am to 9am, has significantly reduced its operating hours.
The pharmacy now dispenses medicine to all patients at 4pm daily.
“One strategy we have implemented here at Kalafong hospital was to move correctional services inmates from collecting medicine at the main pharmacy to the outpatient department pharmacy, resulting in improved queue management and service quality for our patients,” he said.
He added that the hospital also introduced three new service categories, the express, main and special windows which cater for patients with less than five types of prescribed medications, while the other window caters for people with disability, pregnant women and children under the age of 6.
Mgoqi further said he has implemented the rush-hour concept to the hospital to address the high patient volume at the pharmacies.
“The rush-hour concept has helped speed up the queue movement. Personally there is nothing more fulfilling for me then a fact that on a daily basis I can make a difference in someone’s life and contribute to improving the quality of health-care services,” he said.
Mgoqi said he also initiated a “skip a queue website” that helps patients to contact the facility, make bookings and access information conveniently.
He added that the website is also connected to WhatsApp for residents who want quick replies from the hospital
Mgoqi is mentoring 25 Grade 12 aspiring pharmacists through the National Rural Youth Service Corps initiative, a programme that takes students from rural areas with matric to upskill them.
Pretoria News
lesego.montso@inl.co.za
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