Boasting 10 years of international experience and obtaining valuable experience in her nursing career of over 40 years, Dr Jamila Chellan thought it was important to share her expertise and make an impact within the local nursing profession through her thesis, which is titled “An audit tool for relicensing inspection to assess quality and patient safety in eThekwini private hospitals”.

“Having worked for 10 years in the United Arab Emirates, with American and ISO accredited standards, I learnt so much about quality systems that I was eager to share and use this information to improve nursing standards at home. On my return, I got to learn about the South African version of accreditation (National Core Standards) and its low impact on the private sector. This prompted me to explore the topic further. My entire career was built on adding value to patient care services, through the use of evidence based nursing practices, with a big focus on staff education, management, quality and patient safety,” explained Dr Chellan after her graduation with a Degree of Doctor of Nursing from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) today, 14 May 2018.

The mother of two sons and one grandson outlined the objective of her thesis. “The aim of this study was to develop an audit tool for relicensing inspection to assess quality and patient safety in eThekwini private hospitals. My Thesis will add value to the governments initiative of successfully implementing its National Quality framework, the National Core Standards (NCS) within the private sector hospitals. The NCS is linked to the successful implementation of the governments National Health Insurance (NHI), providing equitable, accessible and quality healthcare for all its citizens,” added Dr Chellan.

The elated Dr Chellan said even though she is nearing the end of her nursing career, but she is grateful that she is able to give back to the profession that she loves passionately. “This achievement is also a gift to my eldest son Faiz Chellan who spurred me on in some difficult times. Most of all, It’s my supervisor, Professor Sibiya that showed me the way, without her I would not be standing here. I would also like to thank the Durban University of Technology for affording me the opportunity to study and for supplying me with all the resources, without which I could not have completed this study,” she said.

Through her thesis she discovered that some private hospitals have not fully implemented the approach to practice standards and healthcare audits in relation to three clinical domains of the National Core Standards. “Although best practice policies and procedures exist in private hospitals in eThekwini district, the results showed that there is inconsistent checking of the clinical domains during relicensing inspections. Recommendations from participants for standardised audit process led to the development of an audit tool for relicensing inspections based on the National Core Standards and the Batho Pele Principles for private hospitals in eThekwini district,” said De Chellan.

Dr Chellan said juggling between her demanding full-time employment duties and academic commitments was not easy. “I had to manage this between my studies and my hectic job, but thanks to my hero, my supervisor that drove me from deadline to deadline, which proved to be the secret of my success. I completed my PhD within record time of two years. DUT has set a solid base for my development as a nurse-scientist, and I am forever indebted to this University and to everyone that helped me in my journey to success,” Dr Chellan said with excitement.

She also shared a few words of advise for young aspiring nurses. “The secret to success in the nursing profession is to keep updated through ongoing education and research. The Healthcare industry is a pretty complicated one. We need more aspiring researchers that can take our profession to greater heights. The sky is the limit, but you need to keep motivated and persevere. Hard work pays off, and in the end you reap the benefits,” said Dr Chellan.

Pictured: Dr Jamila Chellan with her supervisor Professor Nokuthula Sibiya.

Nduduzo Ndlovu