What is the purpose of a hospital?

During World War II, workers in a parachute factory had to stitch material for hours at a time. This was repetitive and tedious work. However, each morning they were reminded just how important their work was and that it might savev the lives of their husbands, sons and boyfriends. In this way, the purpose of the factory (to make high quality, functioning parachutes) was kept in clear focus for everyone.


So: "what is the purpose of a hospital?"
That may sound like a very simple question, with a really obvious answer, but I have heard some less obvious ones during my time in NHS hospitals. For me, the answer that took the prize was "Our main purpose is to make money" from a hospital chief executive.

I suspect that CEQ had not read Deming's points for improvement and in particular not point 1: "Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs."

I have suggested before what the ideal state might be for a healthcare organization:
* To deliver what the patient wants & needs, defect free
* ...one by one, customized to each individual patient
* ...on demand, exactly as requested
* With an immediate response to problems or changes
* With no waste
* In an environment safe for patients, staff & clinicians: physically, emotionally & professionally

This should be the main focus - the object of constant purpose - for a hospital or similar body, as it is for the staff dealing with patients daily.

But what of the constituent departments? What is the purpose of the finance department or of human resources? I suggest the answer is still the same. While how they do that differs between departments, the purpose of these departments is to deliver what the patient wants and needs. It remains the responsibility of senior management to help maintain that focus throughout the hospital, to ensure continual improvement in the effectiveness of services we deliver for our patients.