Application of SERVQUAL in Assessing Healthcare Quality: A Report

This report focuses on evaluating healthcare quality within a residential care setting using the SERVQUAL method. It begins by introducing the SERVQUAL framework, which assesses service quality based on five dimensions: reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy, and tangibles. The report then applies this framework to address the issue of infection spread within the residential home, identifying problems such as shared accommodations, eating areas, and a lack of isolation wards. The analysis proposes solutions including isolation wards, separate eating areas, increased staff awareness, and hand hygiene practices. Furthermore, the report discusses strategies for involving service users through questionnaires and discussion sessions to gather their suggestions and opinions. It highlights the advantages of SERVQUAL, such as understanding service user perceptions and measuring service quality, while also acknowledging its limitations regarding reliability and validity. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement in healthcare service delivery.

MANAGING QUALITY
TASK 4

OVERVIEW OF THE CHOSEN METHOD
FOR EVALUATING QUALITY
 For evaluating quality in the case study facility,
SERVQUAL method has been chosen.
 SERVQUAL is a quality management framework
 It highlights the main components of high quality
service
 It is based on five dimensions namely reliability,
assurance, responsiveness, empathy and tangibles.

APPLICATION OF CHOSN METHOD TO
ISSUES IN CASE STUDY
 Organization is suffering from the issue of spread of
infectious diseases.
 SERVQUAL framework can be applied at the
residential home.
 The various areas of residential home can be evaluated
with respect to five dimensions: responsiveness,
assurance, reliability, tangibles, and empathy.
 A questionnaire can be prepared and the management
of residential home can be made to fill it.

Continued..
 This questionnaire will be based on evaluating the
quality of services provided by the care home in the
different functional areas.
 Therefore, the dimensions which is not fulfilled by the
residential home can be found out.

IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEM AREAS
RELATING TO QUALITY
 Problem areas are:
 Sharing of accommodation
 Sharing of eating areas
 Lack of isolation wards for the infected residents.
 Lack of adherence to hand hygiene practices.
 Lack of awareness regarding prevention of spread of
infection

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND STRATEGIES
FOR IMPROVING SERVICE QUALITY
 Placing infected patients in isolation wards: The
infected patients should be placed in separate wards so
that the infection does not spread to healthy residents.
 Separate eating places- Sharing of eating places
should be stopped.
 Increasing staff awareness about spread of infection-
Staff should be made more aware about spread of
infection and its consequences.

Continued...
 Implementing hand hygiene practices: Hand
hygiene practice guidelines should be
implemented.

INVOLVING SERVICE USERS IN THE
PROBLEM SOLVING EFFORT
 Questionnaires: Service users can bee involved in the
problem solving efforts by making them fill
questionnaire.
 Suggestions and opinions: The suggestions and
opinions of service users can be asked through on
discussion sessions.

THE ADVANTAGES AND STRENGTHS OF
THE CHOSEN EVALUATION METHOD
 It helps in understanding the perception of service
users regarding their service needs.
 It provides a measurement of service quality of the
organization.
 It also helps in understanding the perceptions of the
health care staff regarding service quality within the
residential home.
 It assists in the analysis of gap and thus improvements
can be brought in the service.

LIMITATIONS OF THE CHOSEN METHOD
 It involves problems with reliability and validity.
 This method is not based on an established economic,
psychological or statistical theory.

REFERENCES
Badiyani, M. J., 2010. Service Quality of Private
Clinics: Application of SERVQUAL Model. Journal of
Management and Research. 1(2). pp.21-27.
Hibbard, J. H. and Greene, J., 2013. What the evidence
shows about patient activation: better health outcomes
and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health
affairs. 32(2). pp.207-214.
Zwetsloot, M. J. I. G. and et.al., 2010. The
organizational benefits of investing in workplace
health. International Journal of Workplace Health
Management. 3(2). pp.143–159.

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