Determinants of overcrowding in the regional hospital of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

ntroduction: The overcrowding of patients in regional hospitals is a challenge in developing countries, primarily in the tropics and subtropics, including Africa, India, Indonesia and South Africa. Purpose: The study aims to explore and describe the determinants of patient overcrowding in the Vhembe District regional hospital. Methodology: The cause of overcrowding of patients at a regional hospital was investigated using a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. The population was registered and enrolled nurses. The participants were selected using non-probability convenience sampling. A pre-test study was carried out to test the applicability of the research question and the time required to complete the interview. The participants who participated in the pre-test were excluded from the sample during data analysis. Data were collected through individual interviews until data saturation was reached and analysed using Tesch’s open coding. Trustworthiness was ensured by credibility, transformability, dependability and conformability. For this study, the following ethical considerations were taken into account: confidentiality, anonymity, avoiding harm from others and informed consent. Results: The findings revealed that shortage of resources, institutional factors, patient’s behavioural factors and disease outbreaks contribute to overcrowding. The impact of patient overcrowding includes patient-and staff-related effects. Recommendations: The study recommends providing adequate equipment and employing qualified nurses, giving priority to those trained by them who are unemployed to address the shortage of resources. Developing policies on patients’ referral system and educating the community members on Primary Health Care (PHC) system policies and avoiding self-referral to the hospital.