Health systems responsiveness at a leading private hospital in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Responsiveness is identified as a key goal of the health systems by the World Health Organization. There are eight elements in responsiveness namely, Dignity, Confidentiality, Autonomy, Communication, Prompt attention, Basic amenities, Access to social support, and choice of provider. The objective of this report was to assess the responsiveness of healthcare delivery in a leading private hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Observations (participant and non-participant) and informal discussions were used to collect the data. Indicators were developed to assess the responsiveness and a 04-point Likert Scale was used as the scoring system. According to the result, all eight elements of responsiveness were in the range of 79% to 80% and can be considered “excellent”. Recommendations were given for further improvement of selected elements of responsiveness.