An Assessment of the Management Practices in Nigeria Federal Teaching Hospitals and their Impact on Health Care Service Delivery

This article aims to assess the impact of the Management of Federal Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria on healthcare service delivery, using the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) as a case study. Two Hypotheses guided the work. The first is that the heavy reliance on the Paper Record Keeping System in Nigeria's Federal Teaching Hospitals affects patient treatment. The second is that the quality of leadership in the Federal Teaching hospitals affects the ability to provide consistent and effective radiography and laboratory services. Deming's Total Quality Theory was adopted to guide the study. Data for the study were collected from primary sources through semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed qualitatively, using logical deductions, simple frequency tables, and a Pie Chart. The Ex-post Facto Research Design was also adopted. The study's findings revealed that the heavy reliance on the paper-based record-keeping system had a significant impact on patient treatment, particularly in terms of missing laboratory test results, incomplete file documents, and delayed treatment, among other issues, during the period under review. Similarly, findings also showed that the nature of leadership in the hospital affected their inability to provide constant and effective radiography services to patients, especially concerning exerting adequate pressure on the government to provide funding, making judicious use of the funds available, having a good maintenance culture, and being responsive to the complaints of the units under study. Arising from the findings, it was recommended, among other things, that the Electronic Record System be adopted as a backup to the Paper Record System. It was also recommended that those in leadership positions in hospitals should be required to undergo periodic leadership training to enhance their leadership skills.