Abstract
Insufficient resources at healthcare clinics pose a serious problem, undermining
the quality-of-service delivery and negatively affecting the patients as recipients of care and
the staff as providers of care. The shortages often result in extended waiting periods, delayed
implementation of nursing interventions, prolonged hospitalisation and the potential of
increased nosocomial infections.
Objectives: To explore and describe the impact of insufficient resources on the quality-ofservice
delivery at a primary healthcare clinic in Limpopo.
Method: The study followed a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design.
Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Interviews were conducted until data
saturation was reached. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and
analysed using Tesch’s eight-step method of data analysis. The study was steered by the
Donabedian quality-of-care framework.
Results: One central theme emerged, namely scarcity of healthcare resources, with three
subthemes: (1) the impact of water shortage on the quality-of-service delivery, (2) the impact
of staff shortage on the quality-of-service delivery and (3) the impact of medication shortage
on the quality-of-service delivery.
Conclusion: Insufficient resources negatively affect the quality-of-service delivery in
healthcare. The provision of sufficient resources through collective managerial interventions is
imperative to develop and implement measures to enhance the quality-of-service delivery.
Contribution: This study may create awareness among the leadership about the challenges of
the clinic. It may also facilitate the development and implementation of processes to provide
the resources required to improve the quality-of-service delivery.