According to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 46.7, “the use of a warranty is compulsory is not mandatory”. Nonetheless, if the benefits to be derived from the warranty are proportionate to the warranty cost, the contracting officer can then consider including that factor in the agreement. To determine whether the warranty can be invoked whenever any discrepancy occurs, such as a defect, fraud or gross mistake in the supplied goods or services, the following conditions are provided under FAR section 46.703 (Arnavas & Ruberry, 2001). The contractor has to consider the nature and the utility of the goods or services, the cost of the goods or services, the administration and enforcement, the complexity of identifying defects prior to acceptance, storage period of the product, state of the art and the level of development among other things.
Whenever there is gross mistake, or fraud of a defect in commodity provided, the warranty can be invoked as per specific conditions. First, if the product fails to perform the intended use. A warranty is invoked whenever the product of the services provided indicate the defects as defined in the FAR section 46.703 with regard to the products and services delivered in the contract. The government may require that the supplier inspects or assesses and then take actions necessary to correct the defect, or replace the product, or any other form of compensation to reimburse in case of a fraud. All these should be done at no additional cost on the materials, labor, and transport expenses or otherwise. The government may also need the contractor or the supplier to provide all the instruction based on the complexity of use, state of art, level of development etc necessary to correct the defect or all accomplishment of the intended use at reasonable cost as long as such action will correct the defect.
The reason for invoking a warranty has to be included in the agreement. As a matter of fact, the main reason why the warranty has to be issued in a government contract is to ensure that the rights and obligations of the contractor and the state are well defined with regard to defective products and services. As such, a warranty helps to foster quality performance on the side of the service and products supplier. A warranty provides a contractual right for the correction of the defects in spite of other requirements of the contract regarding the acceptance of the supplies (Arnavas & Ruberry, 2001). It also gives the period to be covered and the benefits of the warranty.
Express Warranty and Implied Warranty
The use of warranties was popularized by national retailers and the car dealers over the past five decades. They are either offer written or implied warranties to show their customers that their products are reliable. Most of the states require that the manufacturers give warranties for the products or services provided by suppliers. To the least of their ability, they have to offer implied warranty or some sort of guarantee that the said product or service will be in good working condition and offer the expected service or outcome once it is put into use, (Management Concepts Press, 2012).
The consumer law has provisions that clearly describe the requirements for invoking a warranty and when the government can benefit from its invocation. An express warranty is directly concerned with the quality and standards of the supplied products or services provided. A warranty also addresses the stages to engage in order to fix the defect on the goods or services (Feldman, 2012).
The express warranties will provide the government a better chance to claim protection against defective product since the warranty is explicit and if is made voluntarily by the seller and in agreement with the government that the said product or service will perfume as per the specification of the users expectation (Feldman, 2012). The express warranty additionally clearly spells out the particular correctional actions to be undertaken in case the product is defective or the product does not meet the expected outcome. The express warranties are mostly written and hence more binding as opposed to the implied warranties which are unspoken and unwritten promises that the seller makes to the government when selling their products. However, implied warranty is covered under common law under the doctrine of fair value for money (Feldman, 2012). These specifications are outlined under Uniform commercial code (UCC). UCC section 2-314 is law in each state in US except Louisiana.
The government can invoke the express warranty as long as it is able to fulfill the burden of proof to show that the defect of the product is as a result of poor workmanship, defective raw materials, or by any other means prove that the problem was due to manufacturer’s failure to offer quality, (Federal Acquisition Regulations, 2003). Once this is accomplished, the burden is shifted to the supplier or manufacturer to show that either the defect was not his/her responsibility of there are in fact no said defect to the product. In case breach of warranty is proven, the contractor of supplier has to compensate the government. If the express warranty is not honored, the defect is still covered under implied warranty. Thus the government is protected by the law when an express warranty is in place.
Reference List
Arnavas, D., & Ruberry, W.J. (2001). Government Contract Guidebook. Washington DC: Federal Publications.
Cubic Application Inc is an international contracting company that has specialized in offering technological services and products to military in over 50 countries across the world. Specifically, Omega Division Training Division has specialized in offering quality military services and products to defense industry, Department of Defense and other subcontracting agencies in the United States. Ray Kaufferman and Roger Hewitt co-founded Omega Training Division in 1990 after they retired from the United States Army. Proven record of accomplishment has boosted Omega Training Division to be a contractor of choice in military, for it provides quality-training services to soldiers and sophisticated equipments to military. For over 20 years in operation, Omega Training Division is still leading in supplying military services and training because of its core values of quality, integrity and soldiers that are matchless. To satisfy different needs of military, which are mainly Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force, Cubic Application Inc offers a wide range of programs, which include training, logistic management, analysis and studies, program management, software development and various technological applications in military. Recently, United State Army awarded Cubic Application Inc a five-year contract worth $49 million that entailed supply and maintenance of Surveillance and Control Data Link equipment. This research paper examines the quality assurance of services and products, together with a legal case of Cubic Applications Inc.
The Quality Assurance
Cubic Applications Inc. Omega Training Division offers quality of services and products to defense industry, Department of Defense, and other military agencies. With experience of over 20 years, Omega Training Division has established lucrative relationship with its customers because it offers quality products and services. The lucrative relationship that the company has built for many years has enabled it to offer diverse products and services that satisfy different needs of its customers with respect to Marines, Navy, Army, and Air Force. The United States Department of Defense relies heavily on Omega Training Divisions to provide military services and products, which are not only quality and cost effective, but also technologically oriented. Military services and products that Omega Training Division is providing are quality and innovative in that, they give military assurance about their capacity to combat many intriguing challenges of defense industry.
Moreover, Omega Training Division provides a wide range of programs to military that are essential in enhancing military capacity. One of the integral programs that Omega Training Division is offering is training. Given that trainers are military veterans who have immense experiences, they provide appropriate knowledge and skills, which is crucial in enabling military persons to gain experiences with regard to combat. Hence, training of military in terms of logistics, operations and fighting tactics develop soldiers and improve overall capacity of military personnel. Military veterans also train soldiers on how to apply new technological tactics and utilization of new military equipments. Thus, military personnel development and adoption of technological equipments by Omega Training Division gives an assurance that military defense is secure.
Additional programs such as program management, logistics management, New Equipment Training (NET), System training, test and evaluation, analysis, and studies amongst other pertinent programs are central to quality assurance of services and products of Omega Training Division. Given that Omega Training Division has numerous customers that range from Department of Defense, defense industry, foreign countries, and other defense agencies, it is evident that their services and products are of a high quality. Moreover, the nature of contracts that Omega Training Division has obtained from various customers is worth millions of dollars; thus, it implies that, they have a noble reputation in the sphere of military. Therefore, Omega Training Division provides services and products to military that are of matchless quality.
Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc
The case of Priscilla Ebare v. Cubic Application Inc emerged when Ebare, an employee of Cubic Applications Inc suffered back injury in 2004 during the course of duty when she accidentally stepped into a hole. Though Ebare reported the accident immediately to the authority, she did not seek medical attention instantly because she underrated the extent and consequent of the injury. It was after three months that Ebare started complaining of back injury when her doctor told her that the injury relates to her work. Then, Ebare reported the matter to her employer, Cubic Applications Inc that declined to accord her appropriately medical attention and compensation. Sullivan (2009) argues that, Ebare complained that Cubic Applications Inc did not compensate her temporary total disability benefits (TTD’s) and further denied her to consult a physician of choice (p.2). In view of these complaints, Ebare filed a case at Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWC) to obtain her compensation benefits.
In the year 2006, two years after the injury, workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) made an oral ruling that was latter written and signed in 2008 at OWC, which favored Ebare. In the ruling, WCJ observed that the injury occurred in the course and context of employment in Cubic Applications Inc., and thus, deserve compensation. Moreover, the WCJ noted that Cubic Applications Inc denied her to consult a doctor of her choice. According to Sullivan (2009), WJC ruled that Ebare deserve TTD’s from the time she did not work, in 2004 to present, and additional compensation of $2,000 as a penalty for denying her to see a doctor of her choice (p.3). Seeing that the ruling of OWC was unfair due to high compensation demands, Cubic Applications Inc. appealed the verdict terming it erroneous. Cubic Applications Inc singled out three errors: firstly, there was no corroborating evidence to support the occurrence of injury; secondly, WCJ awarded TTD’s without recommendations of a doctor that confirmed her disability and thirdly, WCJ erred in determining the penalty of $2,000 yet Ebare had some other complications in her health. Thus, Cubic Applications Inc. found it reasonable to appeal and reverse the verdict.
The Case Brief
The case name is Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc, 5 So.3d 1028 (3th Cir. 2009). Ebare was a plaintiff who sued Cubic Applications Inc, defendant at OWC for not compensating her TTD’s and denying her to consult the doctor of choice. WCJ found out that, indeed, Cubic Applications Inc. had not followed compensation procedures of workers, and thus ruled in favor of Ebare. Following the ruling, the Cubic Applications Inc appealed the verdict as an appellant, while Ebare became an appellee, thus making the case as Cubic Applications Inc v. Ebare. The appellate court affirmed the ruling in part and reversed it in part in 2009, and the reporter of the case was Southern Reporter, third series volume 5 (So.3d).
The Keys facts in the case Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc., is that, Ebare had sued Cubic Application Inc. for denying her to consult a doctor of her choice and demanded compensation of TDD’s because she sustained injury in the course of job that made her physically disabled. WCJ ruled that, Cubic Applications Inc. needed to compensate her TTD’s and pay extra $2,000 as a penalty for restricting her not to see her doctor. Consequently, Cubic Applications Inc appealed the ruling citing three errors, viz. there was no bearing evidence to support the occurrence of injury, WCJ awarded TTD’s without recommendations of a doctor that confirmed her disability, and WCJ erred in determining the penalty of $2,000 because Ebare had some other complications in her health. Eventually, the appellate court disregarded the first two alleged errors and accepted the last error, thus affirming WJC ruling in part and reversing it in part.
Legal issues of the case Applications Inc v. Ebare revolved on three issues that Cubic Applications Inc has identified as erroneous in WCJ ruling. In the first issue, Cubic Applications Inc had asserted that WCJ depended only on Ebare’s testimony with no corroborating evidence to support the occurrence of the accident and subsequent injury. Basing on Bruno, 593 So.2d at 360-61, the Judge argued that a worker has the burden of proof and that worker’s testimony is enough given that circumstances of accident corroborate and there is no reasonable evidence to discredit it. Thus, the judge affirmed that the accident occurred in the course and context of employment. Regarding the issue of TTD’s, the judge quoted Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:1221, which states that for any claimant to prove entitlement to TTD’s, one must demonstrate physical disability clearly and convincingly. According to Sullivan (2009), the judge argued that the issue of disability is a legal issue rather than a medical issue; hence, workers have the privilege to prove their disability (p.6). Since physicians cannot approve disability of a worker, the judge affirmed the award of TTD’s. However, the judge reversed the ruling of penalty that demanded award of $2,000 because it was reasonable that Cubic Applications Inc attempted to find out the cause of Ebare condition, since she had other health complications.
Following the appeal by Cubic Applications Inc, the court affirmed the ruling in part that Ebare sustained injuries during the course of employment and that WJC was right when he determined TDD’s. The court also reversed the ruling on the basis that, Cubic Applications Inc, did not bar Ebare from seeing the doctor of her choice because, it acted reasonably in ascertaining the cause of Ebare’s health condition. Thus, the appeal relieved Cubic Application Inc from paying $2,000 as a penalty.
Court’s Rationale
The Ebare’s accident occurred in the course and context of employment, although she did not experience any injury until after three months
Physician determination of disability is secondary to patient testimony; hence, Ebare has the burden of proof in justifying her disability.
Cubic Applications Inc. has the right to use reasonable means in determining the cause of Ebare’s health condition, since she had other health complications.
Conclusion
The case of Ebare v. Cubic Applications Inc. showed that, WCJ had issued a verdict that Cubic Applications Inc. should compensate Ebare TTD’s, in addition to $2,000, as a penalty for denying her to see the doctor of her choice. Following the verdict, Cubic Applications Inc. filed an appeal, for they cited a number of errors in the ruling. The appellate court examined the submissions of Cubic Applications Inc and affirmed in part that the accident occurred in the course of employment, and, therefore, Ebare need compensation of TTD’s. However, the court reversed compensation of $2,000 because Cubic Applications Inc acted reasonably in ascertaining the cause of Ebare’s health condition. Since the ruling majorly had its basis on Ebare’s testimony, it is appropriate that the court should have considered corroborating evidence from third parties like doctors and workmates. Moreover, the court should have considered investigating other factors that might have complicated health condition of Ebare.
Reference
Sullivan, M. (2009). Priscilla Ebare versus Cubic Application, Inc. State of Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, 1-11.
Quality Assurance (QA) is a powerful process supported by many scholars because of its ability to improve the nature of services available to more patients. The QA approach is capable of improving the performance of many professionals thereby preventing sentinel events in a healthcare organization. Medical facilities should be aware of specific sentinel events that occur regularly (Lord, 2013). This understanding will ensure the most desirable approaches are put in place to deal with such events. Some of the approaches to QA learned in class have the potential to prevent sentinel events in different healthcare settings.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
To begin with, the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach focuses on the best cultural practices and organizational behaviors that have the potential to improve the level of performance. This model makes it easier for business organizations to develop positive attitudes and practices. The concept ensures that the diverse needs of different customers are put into consideration. The next step in improving the quality of services provided by the organization.
By so doing, the institution will ensure its employees work tirelessly to provide exemplary services to the targeted customers. When applied correctly in a healthcare institution, the TQM model will ensure more nurses work hard to deliver quality services to more patients (Padhy, 2013). The model will ensure the workers work hard to minimize errors and support their patients’ health needs. An empowered workforce will always focus on the needs of their patients. This approach has the potential to reduce or prevent sentinel events.
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
Hospitals that record many never events can benefit significantly from the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) framework. This quality improvement model encourages healthcare professionals to work as a team and improve the outcomes of their patients. The model is evidence-based whereby timely data is used to make the most desirable decisions. The caregivers focus on their current practices and identify the existing gaps. The strategy can be used to make desirable decisions and offer timely support to more patients (Schattenkirk, 2012). The gaps or contributing factors to different sentinel events will be addressed promptly. More workers will be involved in the decision-making approach. The practice will eventually improve the level of healthcare delivery.
Lean and Six Sigma
The Six Sigma concept has been applied in many companies to eliminate errors and improve productivity (Schattenkirk, 2012). This approach embraces the use of data-driven methodologies to remove defects throughout the service-delivery process. The ideas of the Six Sigma model can be used to improve the performance of many healthcare organizations. The QA strategy uses evidence-based data from an institution to identify the major defects or problems affecting the quality of services available to different clients (Jebb et al., 2014). This model can be used by health leaders (HLs) to identify the major challenges affecting the nature of service delivery.
The Lean Model presents similar approaches that can be used by healthcare workers to prevent malpractices and improve the quality of services available to more patients. The important thing is to identify the major issues making it hard for different workers to deliver quality medical care and support. Errors will be presented ad eventually make the targeted institution a leading provider of superior health services (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.).
This information can be used to outline the resources and skills that might be developed by healthcare workers. Such skills and resources will empower the targeted followers and eventually make them competent providers of exemplary care. By so doing, the workers will be able to identify the potential sources of sentinel events. The next step will be to promote the best practices that can prevent such never events.
Response to the Statements
The best response to the proposed changes in the Quality Assurance (QA) program is that they can deal with various never events (also called sentinel events). The issue of the nursing shortage is a major challenge that contributes to different never events. This is the case because many patients are unable to access quality and timely medical care (Jebb, Esegbona-Adeigbe, Justice, & Crumbie, 2014). With proper changes, more health institutions will be able to deal with this problem. The main focus should, therefore, be on specific strategies that can increase the number of nurse practitioners (NPS). The workforce will transform the nature of nursing and eventually ensure better services are available to more patients. The management should address the problem of inadequate staffing to prevent various sentinel events.
Defining a “Never Event”
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (n.d.) defines “a never event as a shocking medical error that should never occur” (para. 1). The definition has been expanded to include various unequivocal and adverse events that can affect the health outcomes of more patients. Most of these events are surgical, care management, criminal, device or product, or environmental (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.).
Targeted “Never Event”
The sentinel event in the institution occurred when one of the patients received a drug intended for another client. The malpractice resulted in a serious injury thus forcing the institution to provide immediate medical support to the affected patient. The sentinel event showed conclusively that the quality of health care available in the hospital was unsatisfactory (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, n. d.). The event was discussed at the meeting because it explored the major gaps affecting the institution’s performance. The individuals indicated that new practices were needed to deal with similar never events.
Examining the Validity of the Presented Statements
The individuals at the meeting indicated that the sentinel event occurred because of inadequate staffing. However, it would be wrong to generalize and argue that inadequate staffing was the main cause of the event. That being the case, I would examine the validity of the presented statements by analyzing the facts of the event (Lord, 2013). The approach would make it easier for me to identify the major circumstances, malpractices, and gaps that might have led to the sentinel event. The next step will ensure the major factor responsible for the event is clearly understood. The approach will ensure the exact cause of the never event is clearly understood (Jebb et al., 2014). Preventive measures can then be outlined after completing the analysis.
Measures to Prevent a Recurrence of the “Never Event”
One of the most important things in every medical institution is to prevent sentinel events. However, this goal might be unattainable because such events are caused by a wide range of factors. As a health specialist, it will be necessary to implement new measures to ensure such a sentinel event does not occur again. The first measure is ensuring that every healthcare worker is aware of the needs of different patients (Schattenkirk, 2012). The approach will promote the creation of better healthcare delivery procedures for different patients. The second procedure is ensuring all medicines are labeled properly. The labeling approach should be by the targeted patients. Proper medical records will be kept to ensure the targeted patients take their medicines promptly.
The other useful strategy is empowering nurses to calculate dosages accurately. The nurses will be allowed to collaborate with their patients. The practice will play a positive role in averting similar errors. A multi-disciplinary team should be developed to provide quality care to different patients with critical health needs. Such teams will be comprised of caregivers, patients, and their respective family members (Schattenkirk, 2012). The practice will minimize most of these errors. The healthcare professionals in the organization should be equipped with relevant resources. The workers should be empowered using effective leadership practices.
Evidence-based approaches will be supported in the healthcare institution (Lord, 2013). Different healthcare workers will be required to engage in continuous learning. This practice will make it easier for them to acquire new concepts and ideas. By so doing, the caregivers will be able to monitor the outcomes of their clients. They will design new nursing philosophies in an attempt to address the needs of their patients. This approach will “ensure healthcare delivery is an ongoing process that is improved continuously” (Lord, 2013, p. 124). These measures will eventually minimize most of the never events experienced in the facility.
References
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. (n. d.). Never events. Web.
Jebb, P., Esegbona-Adeigbe, S., Justice, S., & Crumbie, A. (2014). Never say never event: Should unsafe staffing in hospitals be classed as a ‘never event’? Nursing Standard, 28(19), 28-29.
Lord, S. (2013). Are staffing levels adequate in your department: if not what are you doing about it? The Journal of Perioperative Practice, 23(6), 122-129.
Padhy, C. (2013). Total quality management: An overview. Srusti Management Review, 6(1), 119-124.
Schattenkirk, D. (2012). Building sustainable internal capacity for quality within a healthcare environment. TQM Journal, 24(4), 374-382.
Quality assurance can be referred to as a set of activities taken to ensure that healthcare organizations’ standards are maintained. It also entails evaluating the situation to improve performance. The ultimate goal is to provide effective and safe care. The Healthcare industry is characterized by an exorbitant amount of protocols. Quality assurance (QA) programs are therefore used to monitor and ensure services offered are of quality standard. QA programs are key areas in healthcare organizations and are thus emphasized. The department of the same is managed by a dedicated team of professionals headed by the medical director.QA program department is responsible for analyzing healthcare requirements and ensuring protocols are observed within the organization. To meet their goals as a department, the team employs a quantitative approach to collecting and analyzing data necessary for the task (Nelson, et al., 1999).
QA Program in Hospitals and their Importance
QA programs have been the center of attention for many healthcare organizations. This has seen most of them lay workers off. They have concentrated on this department at the expense of others. This is because many organizations allocate most of their resources and funds to this department. Moreover, the proposed policies and projects are carried out without much consideration of other departments. All this is done for the good of the organization. It is recorded that negligence of these programs has led to failure of many healthcare organizations.
QA programs ensure the harmonization of all the other departments in the hospital. It ensures that things run well in the hospitals by identifying areas in the departments that need quality improvement and coming up with policies to rectify the situation as well as outlining procedures of doing things in the organization. A quality performance is used to measure performance during auditing. In case the collected data indicate that the expected standards have not been met, the department comes up with quality improvement projects to address the issues affecting them.
The programs also ensure that the healthcare organization complies with crucial requirements such as legal procedures. These programs thus ensure that the organization is committed and maintains compliance. QA programs need to be efficient and effective. For this reason, many health organizations use measurability in order to get a level of evidence. In addition, it ensures that more relevant information is collected hence quality improvement is easier (Hess, et al., 1999).
Health systems need Quality Assurance to attain the objectives of the organizations. This can only be achieved by improving service delivery as expected by the public. In other words, healthcare services provided are of high quality. This also means that every staff performs his/her duties to the best of their knowledge with an aim of satisfying the public.
Being in between the management and the organization itself, the department is seen as a hindrance to good coexistence especially when enforcing policies. Resistance is another challenge faced by the QA programs team. This is because members of the staff are involved in quality improvement projects. In addition, performance is emphasized (Donald and Douglas, 2000).
Improving and Maintaining Quality Care
There are some aspects of QA programs that are important in improving and maintaining quality healthcare. For example, the programs should be patient-based. That is, the policies and projects established should aim at improving the conditions of the patients. Once the patients are satisfied with the organization’s services, the public will and thus the healthcare will gain self-confidence.
The performance of the staff in another area should be evaluated since it contributes immensely to the quality of care. The QA programs should evaluate the performance of staff. The most productive members of the staff should be the only ones maintained and awarded. Good staff performance translates to improved quality care.
Healthcare Coverage Debates in Congress
The ongoing debate on healthcare also emphasizes QA programs. In ensuring its promotion, the committee proposes some recommendations. For example, they suggest that healthcare organizations should promote and support Quality Improvement Boards. This will work for hand in hand with the QA team in improving the quality.
QA programs depend on data gathered to improve. Healthcare organizations should therefore continually give support towards this process and provide the best facilities for the task. In addition, they should invest in the training of this team. The staff should be encouraged to participate in the reviewing of the policies influencing the Quality and selection of the QA members.
Conclusion
Modern trends and the high population seeking medical attention have influenced the healthcare industry today. The health organizations, therefore, have to adopt the new protocols to offer efficient services to the public. Quality assurance programs have thus been put in place to address this issue. With the information gathered, the team can monitor quality based on performance. The programs are also responsible for implementing policies and projects that improve care quality. Any health organization should therefore invest in QA programs more than any other department because their impacts, positively influence all the others.
References
Donald, E. & Douglas, C. (2000). Principles and methods of quality management in healthcare. Aspen publishers: Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Hess, A. et al. (1999). Building and Idealized Measurement System to Improvement Clinical Office Practice Performance. Managed Care Quarterly, 7(3): 26-38.
Nelson, E. et al. (1999).Building Measurement and Data Collection into Medical Practice. Annals of Internal Medicine, 128: 460-466.
The health delivery system aims at increasing the access of health care to the people, improving the quality of such care while reducing the costs involved. This is compromised by the fact that the managed care system is based on profit making and because of insurance, the cost of health care has soared thus becoming a significant issue in the economy. Further, the aspect of mental care in managed care has been of concern to the health care sector stakeholders since it requires high costs to manage mental illnesses. In addition, mental illnesses have increased among the population and it requires urgent medical intervention. This paper provides the summary of the quality ratings that are applied in the quality assessment of health organizations. Additionally, it outlines the ratings of organizations as either low or high based on the quality assurance results. This summary is based on the San Francisco General Hospital, California pacific medical ctr-pacific campus hospital, New York Downtown Hospital and North Bay Medical Center in New York.
Summary of Quality Ratings
Quality assurance as Donabedian and Bashshur (2003) assert involves the actions taken for the establishment, protection, promotion and improvement of the quality of health care provided. This mainly encompasses the categories of performance monitoring and readjustments, and system design and resources. System design and resources look at the professional recruitment, education, training and certification according to the set standards in the sector. The issue of resources also examines the machinery in place and the general functional structure of the organization with new developments (Donabedian & Bashshur, 2003). Performance monitoring and readjustments on the other hand examine the use of information on the actions of a health care organization to form the basis of its quality levels. This involves the examination and evaluation of the actions of the organization in the promotion of health care such as involvement in research work (Shi & Singh, 2008).
The quality assurance is also based on standards especially those set in managed care (Noble & Klein, 2000). Since the health organizations are service based, the quality is founded on their human and health services. The quality aspects examines the process of measurement of care, the results or outcomes of such measurements, the experiences of patients in the health care and the modes of payment and volume for the care provided (Shi & Singh, 2008). The ratings of quality in the health services are based on the standards of health already established, the legal requirements, process care measures such as the surgical care improvement project process of care measures, the outcomes of such measures such as the mortality rates, and other functional structures and the involvement in health research. The quality of human services are based on the experiences of the patients in the organization with concerns for evaluation of communication, nursing care, the general condition of the hospital, the urgency of services and the recommendations offered (Noble & Klein, 2000).
Organizational Rating
North Bay Medical Center in New York ranked the highest in terms of well developed and functional structure in handling patients, emergencies and its involvement in research work, being equipped with the necessary machinery, modified system of dealing with the inpatient causalities with a highly advanced rehabilitation facility and a highly-improved survival and chemotherapy response system for patients suffering from terminal diseases with the problem of laxity which is common among health organizations (Noble & Klein, 2000).
The comparison analysis based on the San Francisco General Hospital, California pacific medical ctr-pacific campus hospital and New York Downtown Hospital ranks California pacific medical ctr-pacific campus hospital as the highest and New York Downtown Hospital as the lowest in terms of quality among the three. San Francisco Hospital ranks as the middle between the two. California pacific medical ctr-pacific campus ranks highest since in comparison with San Francisco, it had a higher performance in patient experiences achieved through: better communication between the hospital staff, quality nursing care, general condition of the hospital and recommendation of patients in the heath care facility as well as high general performances in the use of medical imaging tests like mammograms, MRIs, and CT scans. On the other hand, San Francisco scored higher in the areas of antibiotic administration, urgency of service and methods of hair removal on surgical areas. The New York Downtown Hospital ranked lowest due to the low performance in the experiences of patients and the similar ranking with San Francisco Hospital in surgical process and the unnecessary follow-ups in medical imaging.
Conclusion
The quality assessments ascertain the level of care provided in order to improve the overall quality of health. This paper has summarized the quality rating used by stakeholders and policy makers in health and ranked the organizations in terms of the results of their quality levels. This shows New York Downtown Hospital as the lowest; California pacific medical ctr-pacific campus hospital as the highest with only three hospitals in comparisons while North Bay Medical Center ranks the highest overall.
Reference List
Donabedian, A., & Bashshur, R. (2003). An introduction to assurance in health care. New York, NY: Oxford University Press US.
Noble, E., & Klein, L. (2000). Quality assurance: the measure of quality culture in a managed care setting. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence, 11(2), 199-205.
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2008). Delivering health care in America: A systems approach. New Jersey, NJ: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Health delivery systems are based on the principles of improving access and quality of health care and reducing the costs involved. Managed care which forms part of the health delivery system of the United States is founded on the basis of cost reduction, improvement of general well being and ensuring that the quality of care accorded is not compromised. The differences in the nature of health conditions in terms of the type of illness, care required, support and costs determine the quality of managed care when assessed on the perspective of different health conditions. Chronic conditions are different in nature from other acute illnesses thereby posing as a big challenge for managed care organizations. The organizations have to contend with the illnesses, maintain a competitive advantage in the profit-oriented industry while at the same time ensuring quality. The uniqueness of chronic illnesses requires more objective ways of addressing their nature and quality assurance in managed care.
Nature of Chronic Illnesses & Obstacles in Ensuring Quality Care
Chronic conditions are classified as health conditions of a physical or mental disorder nature which last for a very long time (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). The nature of such conditions is unique in that they are classified by their duration although the manner of treatment and manifestation for them is different. Chronic conditions are not only medical but also psychological and affect people of all ages. The conditions may be influenced by factors such as age, race, and environmental conditions among others. While some are inherited, others develop in childhood or even later in adulthood.
Chronic conditions do not have any specific cause but are caused by a combination of multiple factors thus limiting their treatment (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). The types of chronic illnesses depict their nature with the main classifications being: the life threatening conditions such as heart attacks or cancer; those that disable progressively such as multiple sclerosis; manageable illnesses such as diabetes; those with waxing and waning courses such as chronic fatigue syndrome; and those associated with childhood such as asthma, and other conditions such as obesity, epilepsy, sickle cell anemia, cerebral palsy and hemophilia among others (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). Further, these illnesses do not have specific symptoms but rather different types of symptoms which may not be detectable and which vary with the stage of the condition.
The nature of such conditions is the unpredictability aspect which means that their onset cannot be established and treatment becomes difficult. This unpredictability aspect influences the powerless nature of the patients (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). They do not have control over their illnesses and this uncertainty can be traumatizing and impact negatively on the patients’ social and vocational life. Unlike the acute illnesses whereby a patient is sure of returning to normal healthy state, chronic patients have to live with the condition for quite a significant part of their lives (Friedland & Feber, 1998). This also creates an opportunity for the onset of other conditions which mostly worsen the chronic conditions thus making treatment even more difficult.
The aim of managed care is to reduce the cost of treatment and improve quality and well being. In dealing with chronic conditions, managed care organizations focus on self management which requires constant visitations to the physician and major changes for the patient as well as discipline to remain healthy (Parker & Burke, 2005). This is a big challenge because of the individual differences and the powerless nature of the condition. Chronic patients have to adhere to the specifications of the doctor who has to be registered and specialized in the field. This increases the cost for managed care (Friedland & Feber, 1998). The self management treatment is challenging and greatly depends on the factors of the patient such as age. While self management is recommended, it requires support especially from family for the patient to be able to make changes and maintain a healthy state. The stigma associated with some diseases is very high and limits the self management of the patients and their determination especially if it is experienced both at home and work places (Parker & Burke, 2005).
Chronic conditions do not necessarily have complete cure and treatment. The statistics associated with the conditions and deaths from chronic illnesses are however alarming. For example, the number of people with diabetes was about 7% in 2005. Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women while the number of people suffering from obesity and HIV/AIDS continues to increase (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). Another unique aspect of chronic conditions is the fact that there is limited research and cures for them.
Improvement of Care in Managed Care of Chronic Conditions
Managed care organizations acknowledge that chronic conditions require specialized care. These organizations are however business-oriented with the aim of making profit through cost reduction and other means. The attributes of chronic conditions however form part of the concern for such organizations as a significant number of enrollees are suffering from some form of chronic illness (Parker & Burke, 2005). The care given to such patients is thus based on long term relationships. The assessment of quality is usually done through organizations such as the National Committee of Quality Assurance through the use of health performance plans that are specific to the chronic condition. However, due to limited research on the conditions, quality assessment is also done through the Employee Value Surveys and Patient Surveys.
The care given to chronic patients has however been enhanced through the carve outs established by the MCOs which contract specialized organizations to deal with chronic illness programs with more concern by the employers to enroll their employees with chronic illnesses (Parker & Burke, 2005). This care has improved the aspect of self management but has also limited personal interactions of the patients with their physician. Care is also accorded through social and spiritual support groups.
Recommendations for Improvement of Care
The transformation of the care accorded to chronic patients requires a change in the healthcare delivery system based on cost reduction and acute illnesses. There is need to include programs for long term illnesses based not on cost reduction but on maintenance of a long-term relationship with the enrollee. The reactive nature of the health care system also needs to be transformed to be proactive where the health system aims at maintaining the overall health of a person. The limitations of research require a focus on the academic and medical field research with additional support from the government and non-governmental agencies to ensure objective emphasis on chronic conditions. Additionally, it is recommendable to ensure overall support of the community, managed care organizations and patients through increased awareness of the conditions. Further, employers have a role to play in ensuring that employees with chronic conditions are supported at their work places (Parker & Burke, 2005).
Conclusion
Health conditions that used to be acute, manageable and life threatening are today chronic long-term conditions. This paper has thus evaluated the unique nature of such chronic conditions and the obstacles that limit their management. The care accorded to the chronic patients has been reviewed with provision for recommendations to improve such care.
Reference List
Friedland, B., & Feber, L. (1998). Managed care for elderly people with disabilities and chronic conditions. Generations, 22(2), 51-57.
Larsen, P., & Lubkin, I. (2009). Chronic illness: Impact and intervention. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Parker, F., & Burke, L. (2005). Employers, ethics, and managed care. Employee Benefit Plan Review, 59(9), 7-11.
Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Quality Improvement Plan of the Facility
The current quality improvement plan undertaken by the facility is dubbed the On-Time Quality Improvement for Long-Term Care Initiative. The effectiveness of this quality improvement (QI) plan is proven in some ways. The plan has significantly reduced the prevalence rate of pressure ulcers among the residents of the facility. Second, it has increased the speed at which the facility’s staff access crucial information relating to the residents. Before the implementation of the plan, access to critical information was an extremely slow process that took days. But presently, it only takes a matter of minutes for data to be accessed thanks to the web-based database. Third, the QI plan has significantly increased the job satisfaction levels of the facility’s staffs mainly because their work has become easier and they are actively involved in the entire process. Efficiency of the QI plan is illustrated by the amount of resources required to carry out certain activities. For instance, at present it only requires one staff to access and retrieve crucial data. In the past, the process was handled by more than one staff. As a result, the facility is now able to provide more services using the same resources (Ralston & Larson, 2005).
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Quality Improvement Plan
One of the key strengths of the QI plan of the facility is that it is a plan that is being undertaken by all the facility’s employees. As a result, all employees have a role to play in the quality improvement of the facility. This has tremendously increased the workers’ satisfaction as well as their team work ability. Most importantly, the QI plan enables the facility’s staffs to recognize any deteriorating health conditions of the residents and thus take the most appropriate actions before it is too late. This was impossible before the implementation of the plan. The main weakness of the QI plan is that it makes use of advanced computer and web-based technologies. Hence, employees who lack such skills are limited in the plan’s implementation.
Recommendations to Improve the Weaknesses Identified Above
To improve the weakness mentioned earlier, the facility should carry out regular training sessions for its employees to ensure that they are at par with the technologies and skills. New employees should go through training sessions to make them proficient not only in the technological skills but also in the plan’s execution.
The Organization’s Practices for quality management: PDCA
The facility makes use of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach to quality management. The PDCA cycle is a tool that helps the facility to identify the processes and measure the outcomes for improvement, assess the approach for change, evaluate the data collected, and implement the QI strategy (Motwani, Klein & Navitskas, 1999). During the ‘Plan’ phase the facility: plans to inform the facility’s employees and families informing them of the new QI plan; plans for education of its employees regarding the QI plan; and plans for the training of its employees regarding the implementation of the QI plan.
During the ‘Do’ phase the facility implements the above-mentioned propositions. During the ‘Check’ phase, the facility measures the effectiveness of the QI plan. Specifically, the facility collects data pertaining to the prevalence rate of pressure ulcers among the residents, the level of satisfaction among the employees, and the amount of time it takes to access crucial data. These data will be collected for both before and after the implementation of the plan. The analysis of the collected data determines whether or not the QI plan is effective in addressing the facility’s current problems. During the ‘Act’ phase, the plan is reviewed after every six months. Based on the results, the facility decides whether or not to make the changes permanent or whether to make the necessary improvements. If the results are positive and encouraging, the changes will be made permanent (Ralston & Larson, 2005).
Benefits to the Organization for its Problem Solving Process
The problem solving process of the facility makes use of the PDCA tool. This tool is a cycle and thus an ongoing process. One of the benefits of this process is that it makes use of tangible rather than abstract data. The facility collects and analyzes data and this forms the basis upon which decisions regarding the problem are made. The process is thus evidence-based. Second, the process is a cycle and thus an ongoing process. This enables the facility to identify any arising problems or areas that need further improvement and take the necessary actions to do so. In other words, the process creates room for further improvements (Ralston & Larson, 2005).
Barriers to the Organization’s Quality Improvement Activities and Recommendations to Eliminate the Barriers
The greatest barrier to the facility’s QI improvement activities is resistance to change among its employees. This results from the fact that the employees were accustomed to working in a particular manner since the inception of the facility. The situation is made worse because the QI activities entail extensive use of computer- and web-based technologies which the employees were not familiar with. It thus requires the facility to constantly and fervently facilitate the change process using effective strategies (Briscoe & Arthur, 1998).
Reference List
Briscoe, G., & Arthur, G. (1998). CQI teamwork: Re-evaluate, restructure, and renew. Nursing Management, 29, 73-80.
Motwani, J., Klein, D., & Navitskas, S. (1999). Striving towards continuous quality improvement: A case study of Saint Mary’s Hospital. Health Care Manager, 18(2), 33-40.
Ralston, J., & Larson, E. (2005). Crossing to Safety: Transforming healthcare organizations for patient safety. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 51(1), 61-7.
There are things people do not choose: mental health is one of these things. With its breakneck pace and constant stress, modern life causes insomnia and anxiety, which often contribute to the development of mental disorders. The pandemic only exacerbates the situation: people get new mental problems supported by fear for their health and the health of loved people, forced self-isolation, and the horrific statistics of the spread of the virus. To date, such mental disorders as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, mania, and generalized anxiety disorder are more vital than ever; and about 20% of people worldwide have a mental illness. Therefore, this Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) aims to provide high-level medical care to all people suffering from mental problems and supply protection of their rights.
All people with such diseases need quality medical care, but most are afraid to see a doctor. They are not sure that the treatment will help them, or on the contrary, they do not want to believe the problem is worth visiting a psychologist. Moreover, it is sometimes difficult to find a talented psychiatrist without waiting months (Harrar, 2019). There are also those who do not consult a specialist due to the fear of being rejected by society and getting the status of psycho (Nietzel, 2021). Some people are “fearful of being forced to take a medication or being committee” (Nietzel, 2021, para. 10). Thus, the primary purpose of this QAP includes the following tasks: provision of highly qualified specialists, procurement of effective and safe drugs, informing patients, and guaranteeing the protection of their rights and privacy.
This plan focuses on the Department of Psychology and Psychiatry; however, several tasks should be implemented by Healthcare Administrators, who are responsible for selecting staff and providing equipment and drugs. Implementing this plan will improve citizens’ mental health and convince people suffering from stress, insomnia, and constant anxiety to consult with a psychotherapist. It will contribute to strengthening the psyche, improvement of well-being, and the rise in a working capacity. Since this plan, which includes the study of several statistics, is created to define and correct the direction of psychiatric departments’ work, it will be a research tool for policy determination. Psychologists and psychotherapists are involved in the development of the plan, as well as healthcare managers. Medical professionals, who guarantee quality care, finance professionals, who plan a budget, and procurement specialists, who purchase drugs, play a significant role in this program. Therefore, this QAP involves several groups of specialists whose cooperation can ensure the achievement of the primary goal.
The process of the development of this plan includes several stages. The first one consists in studying statistics on the prevalence of mental disorders and studying the research related to the refusal of people to consult a doctor. The second one includes identifying problems based on the information obtained at the first stage. The third phase consists in defining a policy to address these issues and setting time frames. The plan’s development considers a detailed study of the problem, which contributes to finding a solution.
This Quality Assurance Plan strives to improve people’s mental health by providing them with high-level care from specialists and protecting their rights. It also aims to persuade those who suffer from specific mental problems to ask for help. The development of this plan, including the participation of various professionals, has several phases. Due to the implementation of this QA Plan, it will become possible to solve one of the main problems of modern society. Since it is much easier to treat the disease in its initial stage, it is necessary to convince people that their fears of going to a psychologist are groundless.
References
Harrar, S. (2019). Inside America’s psychiatrist shortage. Psycom. Web.
Nietzel, M. (2021). Almost half of Americans don’t seek professional help for mental disorders. Forbes. Web.
Many countries across the world are currently very sensitive about the quality of products that are made available within their borders. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no exceptional. Through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the government has kept a close watch on the quality of products offered to customers in order to ensure that citizens are protected from substandard products in the market.
Environmental advocates and agencies are keen to monitor activities of various companies operating within this country in a bid to ensure that the environment is kept free from pollution. Through this ministry and other related ministries, organizations must satisfy the set standards before they can be allowed to start their operational activities. They must conform to the International Standards specifications and other safety standards set by various organs in the country.
Based on this, many organizations in Saudi Arabia have found it relevant to maintain quality in the process of production and the final products delivered to the market.
Introduction
The term quality refers to inherent characteristic of a given item that makes it unique from others. Quality assurance refers to systematic evaluation and monitoring of a product, a project or facility to ensure that it conforms to the set standards. International Organization for Standardization, ISO, (1994) defines quality assurance as all planned and systematic activities implemented to provide adequate confidence that an entity will fulfill requirements for quality.
The operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfill requirements for quality are referred to as quality management. Quality assurance is a process that is useful in production process as it ensures that the final product meets market requirement. Quality management is a comprehensive process that begins with regulation of raw materials, processing facilities and other processes related to production, and the final product.
For a new firm that is about to start operations, quality assurance is a very important requirement that should be fulfilled in order to get government approval before operations. The organization must meet legal requirements put in place by government agencies in order to have necessary certification to start conducting business in the country.
According to the Law of Commercial Register 6: 2007, any new firm that intends to operate in Saudi Arabia must meet the rules and regulations set by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. They include the laws relating to health, product specification and standardizations, pricing laws, environmental protection laws, tax compliance laws and consumer protection laws.
A firm must have a detailed approach to quality management in order to be allowed to operate within the country. A new organization must make a concerted effort to ensure that such laws and regulations are fulfilled.
The management should embrace the culture of quality management in order to be competitive in the market and meet the standards set by the government so that the firm may manage competition that is in the market. Quality Management and Quality Assurance System that would be appropriate for particular business unit is discussed below.
Quality Management and quality Assurance System
Quality assurance and control system puts into consideration factors such as time available for its implementation, resources allocated to it, availability of relevant data, legal requirements put in place by the government, technological advancement in the industry, skilled labor available to implement proposed projects among other requirements. Quality assurance and quality control are related to inventories.
The main concern is to produce quality products using relevant raw materials in a manner that would be environmentally sensitive. The law limits the level of emission of toxic substances and effluents by any company.
This is aimed at conserving the environment. For this reason therefore, companies must make an effort to ensure that facilities that are installed are in good operational shape. Emissions should be controlled and there should be a sewerage system that facilitates treatment of effluents before they are released to the environment.
The system should be linked to other sewerage systems whereby their flow is controlled and directed to the government-designated location. The combustion chambers should be fitted with scrapers in order to control smoke that is released to the environment. The scrapers should be replaced regularly as a preventive measure to environmental pollution. The law also demands the safety and security of employees while at workplace.
Employees assigned to production departments that are prone to smokes or other gaseous emissions should be provided with gas masks to ensure that they do not inhale poisonous gases. Other measures should also be considered to facilitate the wellbeing employees. With employee’s safety and environmental concerns, the focus then turns to quality of the product.
International Standards Organization has set standards that are to be met by all products and production processes. Standards must be accepted in the society. International Standards Organization 9001 stipulates among other factors that the quality of the workforce available in production of goods should be perceived to be of the right standard. According to this certification, there is standard a number of trained personnel that should be available in each department of production.
The trained personnel would be in charge of supervision and other tasks within production department while other duties such as packaging and delivery would be left to the semi-trained personnel. As Goatish (1995) says, quality starts and ends in the mind. There should be a spirit of quality inculcated in the minds of personnel. These individuals would determine the quality of output. They should appreciate the importance of producing quality products.
The organizational tools and equipments should also be standardized. Back-up power system should be made available to avoid disruption of production.
Raw materials used in the production process should be of the right standard and should conform to the requirements of the law. Production department should ensure that only acceptable ingredients are included in the products in order to avoid litigation that may ensue due to none conformity. The law demands that all ingredients that are used in a given product are clearly labeled during packaging in order not to confuse customers. This should be done on all products manufactured in the company.
In order to match market competition, the company must put into consideration quality assurance and management devices employed by competing firms. Attention should particularly be given to the level of mechanization employed by other industry players. In order to have a consistent market growth, the company should be in a position to convince customers that its products are of higher quality compared to products of other competing firms (Joherim, 2008).
The First Stage
The first stage is related to customer focus. The diagram below gives a breakdown of the process.
The first step in this stage is to internalize the requirements of the customers and regulators. The management then takes a premeditated step to design quality management system in order to realize expectations in the second step. This demands attention from all departments in the organization as it strives to respond to the needs of customers and regulators. If done appropriately, customers and regulators would be satisfied.
Second Stage
The second face emphasizes on policies and regulatory procedures in the process of production. There should be quality planning so that the final product would have a graded quality. This stage tries to implement regulatory laws that the authorities have enacted to govern the industry.
They are concerned with protection of employees, consumers and the environment. Employees should be protected from hazardous working environment and other work related perils. Consumers need protection from substandard products, misinformation and unfair pricing strategies. The environment should be protected from pollution and other activities that may lead to its degradation. This stage stresses on the quality of production system. The company should comply by maintaining these standards.
Third Stage
This stage lays emphasis on functionality of the departments, plant procedures and production processes. It demands that concerned managers in each department understand the company’s overall quality objectives. They have to impart the same skills on various units in their departments. It is important that these managers understand market expectation so that they can appreciate the need for the process of quality control.
Challenges in the Implementation Process
The main challenge in the implementation process is the availability of finances to implement the project. Because this is a new company, it may not be in a position to finance various operational units that may be needed for successful implementation of the project. The level of expertise may also be limited as the company may not be in a position to attract the best labor force available in the industry.
Competitors may not make things easy, as they will develop counter programs in an attempt to maintain their market share. The current employees may also fail to meet professional qualifications that the project requires. They may be lacking required flexibility and the drive to implement the project.
Conclusion
Quality management has gained relevance over the recent past. Many organizations have embarked on ensuring that their products and production processes are responsive to market expectations and to the demands of regulatory bodies.
For a new firm to venture into the Saudi market and operate successfully, it is important that it develop quality assurance project that would convince the public and the government regulatory authorities that their products would meet expected standards and are environmentally friendly. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has regulatory procedures that need to be followed.
Recommendations
The company should set aside substantial finances during its budgeting process to cover for the expenses of quality assurance and management project. Because this is a new business unit that is yet to be approved by the government, the cost may be a little higher. The quality assurance team must be in a position to convince the government that the set rules and regulations would be adhered to. The business unit should also make an effort to attract individuals who have skills necessary in the implementation process.
The ratio of employees with right skills and experiences to that of inexperienced labor force should be about one to one. This would ensure that those with little or no experience take the shortest time to familiarize themselves with new policies. Their remuneration and other packages should also be attractive enough to motivate them. In order to beat market competition, the management should ensure that strategies are not exposed to competitors.
References
Goatish, L., & Stanley, D. (1995). Implementing Total Quality. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice-Hall.
ISO, (1994). Air Quality, Determination of Performance Characteristics of Measurement Methods. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.
Joherim, M. (2008). Quality Assurance and Quality Control. New York: McMillan Publishers.
In order to ensure that their service provision and delivery is excellent, Shropshire fire and rescue services had come up with strategies that would promote this objective. Within their strategy, they focused on the needs of the service recipients through discussions and feedback systems. In addition, they ensured that cooperation between service recipients and other stake holders was reinforced. To achieve this, they worked closely with the police, youth organizations, churches et cetera.
With a reliable leadership, Shropshire fire and rescue services are confident to achieve excellent quality services to their clients through implementation of the strategies mentioned within this paper. Another good thing about the strategy of Shropshire is that it puts the future in consideration. They have put up measures to ensure consistent improvement that would reflect the changes in the internal and external environment.
After the government directives in their 2008/11 policy framework, Shropshire fire and rescue services included the policy of diversity within their strategy. They aimed at recruiting a diverse and skilled workforce that puts in consideration the community that would be receiving their services. This included minorities and gender differences. This, based on scholarly studies leads to augmentation of quality of service.
Introduction
For success in service delivery in any field, it is imperative that strategy programs are developed to give guidelines that would act as road marks upon which success can be measured. Likewise, fire and rescue services, in tandem to the spirit of cooperation with the entire government directive and the need to offer unrivalled safety and quality services, have embraced the marvel that is modern technology.
These measures are itinerary to their main principle for existence; to have strategies of service provision to ensure that residents within their respective areas of operation are safe from all dangers. To further promote proper service provision, the government also plays an integral role by providing measures upon which the service providers have to refer when forming their own strategies and projections. On the other hand, changes in the environment (both internal and external) could lead to changes in the measures enacted.
This paper will try to highlight the appropriateness of measures concerning fire and rescue services that were put up earlier in the United Kingdom and further analyze the appropriateness of the later version that was enacted in 2008. To facilitate this, Shropshire fire and rescue services will be used as the case study in the paper (“safer communities” 14).
Like most fire and rescue service stations, Shropshire has, as its main objective, the need to ensure that people within the region live within reasonably safe environments. Shropshire fire and rescue service operates have a good reputation and the populace think highly and very positive of them, and to maintain this rapport with the civilians the company has had to stick to its core fundamental values.
These values are multi faceted; they touch on every aspect of the society (Safer communities” 16). They treasure their job as community servants and as such work hand in hand with the people. They give all members of the community fair and respectful treatment, working on their queries and giving out their best in all their undertakings.
To the people, the company first recognizes that its employees are human beings thereby treating them respectfully and fairly. It identifies the level of qualification of its employees and promotes a culture of sincerity, reliability and mutual trust. To service delivery, they encourage diversity through provision of variant solutions to the different needs of the public.
They are also an equal- opportunity employer working towards eliminating unfairness and favoritism. They also champion innovation and improvement within the organization through virtues such as open mindedness, accommodating critics and learning from their own experiences. They also encourage consultations whenever possible. All this principles are geared towards bringing out the very best in all the parties involved and ensure that quality services are rendered to the public (Communities and Local Government 14).
To ensure that they remain within their set quality objectives in service delivery, and even propel them ahead of the pack in quality service delivery, they have come up with myriad strategies to help them attain these standards. In their quest to stay afloat over current events and the evolution of crisis in the department, they have developed a master plan that guides them through the work and serves as the blue print for their services.
These are set out in the resolutions outlined “Key principles of the fire and rescue service equality frame work. Enshrined in these principles are three basic concepts with which they use to gauge themselves.
The principles are based on three primary factors that focus on development, their level of achievement and their degree of excellence based on their operational rules and regulations. It is with this effect that different states have set out to enact rules and regulations running this department in correspondence to their specific and immediate needs.
Pre Reforms Era
In order to determine whether the pre-reform strategic plans were profitable and worth implementing, it is necessary that we use available standards so that clear analysis can be made. To begin with, studies point out that a good service delivery should be customer oriented.
As it is well known in the reams of business, the customer is the central and most import part of any business (Anandarajan & Viger 36). Equally, fire and rescue services need to ensure that their strategic plans are customer oriented. They should give the needs of the customers first priority. This can be done through analysis of what the customer needs and what he feels is the best approach that would reduce instances of poor service delivery.
Considering this approach, how can Shropshire fire and rescue services’ strategic plan be measured? It is clear that this strategy has clearly put in consideration the needs of the customer. In addition, it has diversified its customers in different categories. This assists them to identify the different needs of the different categories.
Their strategy calls for reduction of deaths that result from injuries and fires not just in the domestic but also non domestic set ups. This includes increasing the number of land and house owners with approved risk assessment for fire and injuries. The strategy also involves ensuring that proper measures are put in place to ensure that no false alarms are responded to at the expense of real fire incidents. These approaches are a clear indication of focus on customer needs and expectations.
A good service delivery must not work as an island. The people, who are actually the main recipients of the service, need to be actively involved within the operations. The plans should give every stakeholder a role to play (Anandarajan & Viger 36). In the case of Shropshire fire and rescue services, there is strategic approach that obliges the station to ensure that they actively incorporate the citizens in their endeavor to ensure that the best service is provided.
Shropshire works in consultation with community through holding of regular meetings, getting responses from local leaders and contacting interviews and questionnaires. In addition to this, Shropshire intends to work with other stakeholders like police, local safety forums, voluntary groups, churches, et cetera.
These two mentioned factors above do not only show that Shropshire is customer oriented and ready to involve new members but also brings into question another characteristic of good quality standards (Besterfield 21).
It is necessary that good quality service delivery puts into consideration mutual benefit between the service deliverer and the customer. It should be a one sided affair where the business organization benefits while the customer is subjected to suffering. In the case of Shropshire, consultation with the community helps them understand the needs of the people.
To this extend, the community benefits through proper service delivery in that their needs are met. On the other hand, the strategy calls for ways through which false alarms could be reduced. This assists in reducing wastage, not only of time but also other resources like fuel and workers who would run to attend to a false alarm.
Leadership and management play an important role in service delivery (Besterfield 21). This is the arm of the organization that plays the role of important decision making. As a result, if the decisions made are faulty, the whole system would end up faulty. At Shropshire, competence and professionalism are prerequisites in attaining managerial posts.
This makes the management of this organization reliable and worth believing in. although competence and professionalism are good attributes that can propel an organization to economic greatness; there are some factors that could still hinder this growth. These include lack of capacity to freely make decisions without interference, getting too many responsibilities within one docket, et cetera.
To curb such in eventualities, Shropshire has devolved powers so that fewer roles are bestowed upon one shoulder. Furthermore, managers are given power to make decisions without interference from other quarters. Finally, leadership in Shropshire advocates for supportive collaboration where innovation and creativity are given an upper hand (De Waal 17).
Finally, a good service delivery strategy must have room for continual improvement. Given the ever changing nature of business environments, it is necessary that measures are continually changed in order to reflect the changes in the internal and external environment.
At Shropshire, there are several measures developed to ensure that continual improvement is experienced. To achieve this, they have come up with quality service assurance policy that involves provision of avenues through which performance could be measured and assessed. In addition, the company has within its strategic road the need for embracing technology through new technological tools needed in communication. Through these tools, communication will be enhanced and hence quality services will be delivered.
Post government reforms
After some profound analysis, the government felt that the fire and rescue services in the UK were delivering averagely quality services. However, they needed to make sure that the services delivered were beyond average. They wanted to ensure that what civilians received was excellent.
As a result, they came up with a national policy framework from which the fire and rescue services were to base their quality assurance strategies and operations. Although there are several inclusions that were made, this paper will focus on the human resource strategy of diversity and see how relevant this is in the overall endeavor to ensure quality in service delivery (Communities and Local Government 16).
In the new policies, 2008/11 national policy framework, the government realized the role of human capital in service delivery. They purported that workers are the most important resource that any organization can have. In order to ensure that all the citizens within the geographical area of operation are receiving appropriate services, the government realized that it was appropriate that employment policies and procedures needed to be clearly stipulated and maintained.
To ensure the above, the government set up laws to ensure that fire and rescue services employed people with the pertinent and outstanding skills. In addition, the workers had to be taught to understand that they were potential. This could be realized through fair treatment and equality in opportunities. Finally, the chances for career development and growth had to be equal for every employee.
What could have pushed the government to force fire and rescue services to come up with a diversity policy? To begin with, the importance of diversity has been discussed in a plethora of academic work. Several studies have argued that the quality of services increase drastically if the policy of diversity and inclusion is adopted.
First, within a diverse workplace, there is a great pool of talent in which quality can be experienced. When the work place is made up of people from all races, religious back grounds, sexual orientations et cetera, the wide nature of the skills and knowledge allows the organization to get almost every skill required for a given role (Communities and Local Government 24).
In addition to a wider pool from which talents can be tapped, diversity also allows for diversity of views. This means that tackling a given task could end up with quality outcome as a result of variety in approaches given by the variety of back grounds and view points. Finally, diversity kills discrimination. Within a diverse climate, there are reduced chances of discrimination not just in the work place but also to the customers and other service recipients. How, therefore can this be of importance to quality assurance strategy of Shropshire fire and rescue services?
In order to ensure that they are operating within the governmental expectations and also for the benefit of their own productivity, Shropshire fire and rescue services developed a revised edition of quality assurance strategy that put into consideration diversity and inclusion. The main objective of this new strategy was to ensure that no employee was harassed or discriminated.
Every employee had to feel welcome and part of the Shropshire fire and rescue services team. In their own words, “we recognize the importance that there are no barriers inhibiting accessibility to an equitable standard of service provision and fairness in employment and we will make reasonable adjustments where necessary to achieve this” (“Community Safety” 22).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Although the service provision of Shropshire was good before the reforms, it is clear that the new directives by the government would not only improve on their own wellbeing but also the wellbeing of the society as a whole. Their quality assurance strategy, when measured against the standards, shows that their services were good. However, unavailability of diversity programs could have been a draw back to overall quality delivery.
For instance, some areas never received services due to lack of diversity and discrimination. A good example of such areas is Eastern Europe. However, in the new directives, Shropshire has adopted a diversity focused strategy which involves recruitment of workforce that reflects the community’s diversity. It also includes recruitment of minorities and people from remote areas like Eastern Europe.
By doing this, they believe that service provision will not just remain an affair for Western Europe but Europe as a whole. Through the diverse workforce, workers from the minority groups will be able to champion for quality service delivery for their people from remote areas (“Community Safety” 23).
With such changes, it is clear that the service provision for Shropshire will increase. Given the mentioned importance of diversity in work place, the inclusion of this policy in the quality assurance strategy of Shropshire is a step forward that would increase the talent pool, views and opinions, reduce discrimination and champion for formerly neglected regions like Eastern Europe.
Works Cited
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Besterfield, Dale. Quality Control: A Practical Approach. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1979. Print.
Communities and Local Government. Fire and Rescue Service National Framework 2008/11. Feb, 2011. Web.
De Waal, Andre. Power of Performance Management: How Leading Companies Create Sustained Value. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001. Print.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service. Safer Communities Core Strategies, 2006-2009. Feb, 2011. Web.
Community Safety Prevention Business Plan 2008/11. Feb, 2011. Web.