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experience, productivity, and an increased risk of workplace accidents. Lower levels of staff engagement are linked with lowerquality patient care, including safety, and burnout limits providers’ empathy which is a crucial component of effective and personcentered care. “The findings were shocking, to say the least. Employees said they just needed basic things to be happy, which we did not expect. They needed to be respected, appreciated, involved in meetings and decision making, have enough tea, breakout rooms, start the day with prayer, background music at work, and better contract terms,” noted Dr. Kalondu. The quality improvement program aims to ensure that employees find joy at work and transfer the same to clients as they offer quality health care services to them. It enlightens employees to navigate the challenges they experience
at work and go the extra mile to ensure they do not project them to the patients. It also informs the Health Care Quality Division about what affects patient care from the employees’ point of view. The response to the program since its inception The program received senior management buy-in and active teams’ involvement. The Senior Director of Clinical Services (SDCS), Senior Director of Corporate Services (SDCoS), and the Director of Human Resource have backed the program and its benefits. The sensitized teams have also found great joy in disclosing their joys and frustrations at work, as this has helped them work better as teams. It has also provided a safe space for staff to open up to each other. The future of the ACQUIRE-IHI Joy at Work Program
“It is important to note that this quality improvement initiative does not work in isolation. Other contributing factors and processes are based on the Strategic Plan and work hand-in-hand with the program to ensure its success. The vision of this quality improvement program is to see all employees happy at work. We aim to have employees find creative ways of working with what they have as they wait for hospital-wide system changes rather than being disgruntled,” said Dr. Kalondu. She added, “We hope to see the Joy at Work program adopted as a culture change initiative at the Hospital. We also hope the program will ensure better client feedback on the departmental and hospitalwide customer satisfaction surveys.” Quality health care starts with the employees. A joyful employee ensures a delighted client.
A show of warmth as KNH receives 10 beds from Ushuru Sacco Society By Effie Sande & Maureen Oloo Kenyatta National Hospital’s adopt a bed campaign has received a shot in the arm following a donation of ten (10) beds from Ushuru Sacco Society Limited. The beds were handed over to Board Chairman Mr. George Ooko by his counterpart Mr. Isaac Kiprop on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. “A single bed will benefit three (3) patients in a month and hundreds of thousands in the next few years. The new bed designs make patient management easier for the health care workers, thus contributing to their comfort while at the Hospital,” said Mr. Ooko. Mr. Kiprop on his part commended the KNH management and staff for their tireless effort in offering specialized health care services PHOTO |NICHOLAS WAMALWA KNH Board of Management Chairman Mr. George Ooko (R), KNH CEO Dr. Evanson Kamuri, EBS (L) with Ushuru Sacco Chairman Mr. Isaac Kiprop (2nd R) and Ushuru Sacco CEO Mr. William Pudha (2nd L) when they donated beds to KNH
ISSUE 16 | Kenyatta National Hospital Newsline
PHOTO |NICHOLAS WAMALWA KNH Board of Management Chairman Mr. George Ooko (3rd R), KNH CEO Dr. Evanson Kamuri, EBS (2nd L), Ushuru Sacco Chairman Mr. Isaac Kiprop (M) and Ushuru Sacco CEO Mr. William Pudha ((3rd L) with KNH staff representatives of Ushuru Sacco when they donated beds to KNH
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