The Annual General Assembly (AGM) report of any institution/organization is an opportunity to share progress and setbacks with its stakeholders. This is also an opportunity for stakeholders to get a sense of the progress and performance milestones of the institution.
From a stakeholder perspective, the hospital’s vision, values, and service delivery are critical to the success of its operations. In most African countries, AGMs are held behind closed doors and AGM reports are not routinely shared with stakeholders. As a result, stakeholders are unable to question the institution’s clinical operations, administrative procedures, and financial health. Some senior doctors have often used their positions as a protective factor and resist being challenged.
However, in Ghana, new government initiatives are beginning to challenge the system and hold institutions accountable for their performance. There are many health clinics and hospitals that do not use AGM reports or link them to their information technology processes.
It appears that the dynamics of information technology have not been fully exploited to benefit the delivery of health care services in many African countries. As a result, there is hardly any information to compare AGM reports electronically. On the contrary, in the Scandinavian countries, where the AGM reports are significant and have been used to improve the provision of their services in the 1980s.
The UK NHS has been using AGM reporting to improve results, but more so since the introduction of electronic reporting. The business world, on the other hand, has always exploited AGM reports as a source of data. They covertly evaluate each other’s General Meeting of Shareholders’ reports. This has helped companies assess the ability of their competitors by gaining insight into their business with a mission not only to gain competitive advantage but also strategic positioning.
Interestingly, in many African National Health Services, such as Ghana, AGM reporting and information technology is not viewed in the same way as business activity. This is where directors, performance appraisal, arrangement, and financial review are critical to a company’s success. This is something that would help improve services in many developing countries.
For example, if African hospitals shared AGM reports with broader stakeholders and were more open about clinical governance, it would have helped educate the general public. Having AGM reports that could be accessed online could have helped institutions willing to help others affected by problems, by accessing reports and other information remotely.
On a different note, the irony is that one would find that in Africa many hospitals do not have the basic equipment to address infection control. Surely having an annual AGM, clinical governance would alert the areas that need to be addressed. There seems to be no regular updates on compliance compared to what you see in a developed country with mandatory training requirements. If health institutions in developing countries cannot share their AGM reports online, how can they offer assistance to a neighboring country in times of crisis? This could be the deciding factor in determining whether a country is likely to be the next victim of Ebola or another health crisis.
How could the National Health Service in African countries improve its image and profile? If globally all health institutions are working to achieve the goals set by the World Health Organization on health improvement and development, then we must share best practice and cost effective approaches.
Perhaps having a survey of patients in African hospitals on the following would be a useful tool to use.
Are hospital performance ratings done quarterly?
Is there an ongoing review of clinical governance performance?
Do patients have a voice through the AGM?
Do hospitals provide useful contact information for filing complaints?
Is there a patient advice and public participation service in African hospitals?
Many African governments are not brave enough to hold the heads of all hospital institutions to account. As a result, huge sums of money are lost due to a weaker management system that has led to corruption in many health institutions in Africa.
Effective strategic management of the Ebola crisis demonstrated that developed and developing countries can work together to form a health alliance to address future challenges.
One recommendation for the way forward on health issues would be for African countries to share their AGM reports online, if possible. The report would help other stakeholders to analyze and exploit information that could benefit both institutions for future development and progress. Health problems are a global problem. The evidence and interventions from the Ebola crisis showed that a global management approach certainly helped contain and prevent the spread on a global scale.