Assessing the efficiency of regional hospitals in Ghana: Implications for optimal resource allocation for referral hospitals

Abstract

Scarcity of resources, high expenditure, and ineffective resource use characterise healthcare in Ghana. The symptom of inadequate hospital resource utilisation gave rise to the popular term 'no bed syndrome' in some Ghanaian regional hospitals. Under these circumstances, patients are continually turned away from receiving treatment because of inadequate beds especially in the emergency and surgical units. Therefore, this study assesses the efficiency of four (4) regional hospitals in Ghana in 2020. Secondary data on bed occupancy rates, average length of stay and bed turnover rates, among others, were collected from District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) for further analysis. Pabón Lasso charts were drawn using Microsoft Excel 2019 to evaluate the efficiency level of hospitals and wards. The results show that the Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo Regional Hospitals were inefficient, the Upper East Regional Hospital was less efficient and the Eastern Regional Hospital was efficient. Findings also indicate that the medical, maternity and surgical wards of the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital were inefficient. However, the emergency ward was the most efficient in the Eastern Regional Hospital but that of the Upper East Regional Hospital was inefficient. The medical and surgical wards of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital were less efficient. These findings have practical implications for designing policy instruments to promote healthcare delivery in Ghana.

Keywords

• Efficiency
• Regional hospitals
• Ghana
• Resources
• Wards