Patient-centered care during gynaecological brachytherapy in terms of Batho Pele principles

Background: Patient-centred care means that healthcare systems are there to serve the people. The Batho Pele principles “Putting People First” were established in 1997 by the Mandela administration of South Africa and these service delivery principles are to be adhered to by government institutions. The principles are applicable to radiation therapy treatment aspects mainly to sustain, but also to improve on the quality of patients’ experiences while undergoing treatment. Purpose: The aim of the study was to establish the standard of patient-centred care by exploring and describing gynaecological
cancer patients’ expectations, experiences and understandings prior, during and post HDR brachytherapy treatment procedures. Methodology: A qualitative research design with a descriptive phenomenological research approach was followed. Recruitment entailed using purposive sampling. To obtain rich insights into respondents’ lived experiences, data were acquired through semistructured interviews, incorporating the Batho Pele principles. Findings and conclusion: A gap in communication between the healthcare provider and cancer patient respondents was exposed. This caused them to be lost regarding the brachytherapy treatment processes and procedures. They expressed their desire
for information and seemed to be mostly submissive to what was being done to them. Findings indicated partial compliance with Batho Pele in terms of courtesy, redress and access; there was insufficient compliance with regard to consultation, service standards, information, openness and transparency.