Measuring service quality towards customer expectation and perception in Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), Kuching / Ruyani Anuar

The health care industry has begun to adopt many concepts from the manufacturing industry, especially in meeting customers’ needs. Our society is very concerned about quality health care and thus health care providers have no choice but to deliver quality services. The public has become a better informed consumer of services and expects assurance that services are good. They do not necessarily wish to know of, nor are they able to judge, all the technical details, but they do have the right to know that those who carry the technical responsibility do apply effective control. Quality care is provided by a complex blend of multidisciplinary, technological and human resources. In order to serve the public better, quality assurance activities must promote active collaboration between the staff and the management. Thus, quality control should not be construed as an extra burden incorporated in, or added to, a process. It should be the concern of all personnel, since the production of high quality services enhances the reputation of the organization. In Malaysia, the government still provides the bulk of hospital care. The government philosophy emphasizes prevention and encourages Malaysians to lead healthy lifestyles and be responsible for their own health. Basic health care is available and accessible through a comprehensive range of primary, secondary and tertiary medical services in the public sector. The challenge lies in providing good quality medical care to increasingly high expectations of the population, while ensuring health costs are affordable to the nation.