Evaluation Of Maintenance Management Practice In Public Hospital, Buildings In South-West,Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The research investigated the state of maintenance management of public hospital buildings in South-west, Nigeria, and in the process, identified factors militating against their effective contribution to health care delivery. A total of 552 questionnaires comprising 206 for maintenance staff and 346 for users of public hospital buildings were collected and used for study. The survey covered 46 public hospitals representing 40% of the total number of existing public hospitals in South-west, Nigeria. The study comprises all the 11 federal governments owned hospitals and 35 selected state government owned in South-west, Nigeria based on stratified random sampling technique. Data collected were analyzed using mean item 'score, Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Spearman-rank correlation coefficient, Pearson correlation test and Multiple regression analysis where appropriate.

Findings of the study revealed that in public hospitals in South west, Nigeria, the staff strength of the maintenance departments is inadequate and the maintenance staffs are inexperienced in hospital maintenance management. Majority of the users of public hospital buildings do not have access to any formal training on effective use of hospital facilities. The state of maintenance of hospital buildings are found to be above average in performance, while the structures and fabrics were highly rated in performance and in their physical condition, while the services are poorly rated.

The study also revealed that there exist maintenance policies. Training through workshops and seminars are the major types of training given to the maintenance operatives which are found to be inadequate. Also motivation is lacking in most maintenance organizations. Preventive maintenance system is found to be the predominant maintenance strategy practiced by most of the maintenance departments in public hospitals in South-west, Nigeria.