The case under analysis describes the challenges that SJHC and LHSC faced while trying to transfer all the equipment and processes that were formerly carried out in SJHC to LHSC as planned by the Health Services Restructuring Commission (HSRC). The five major challenges that the organization faced in this process are:
Effects of the transfer on the staff of both hospitals
As the specialists recruited for the transfer process noted, people that worked for SJHC were greatly concerned about the very moving process. The latter affected their lives and could have been a reason for them to compromise their professional practices for the sake of handling more personal businesses. Parkes and Collins noted also that nurses cared more about parking cars and establishing such daily routine matters as a washroom or cafeteria than about their nursing services at the time of transfer, which could have undermined the SJHC high practice standards.
Change of public perception of SJHC and LHSC
The second issue that HSRC faced in its attempt to relocate the facilities of SJHC to LHSC was the potential shift in the public perception of both hospitals, and especially SJHC. The point was that the latter hospital was perceived by the surveyed people as a smaller and more people-oriented facility where one could get not only professional help but also warm communication with caring people. Transfer to LHSC might have undermined such a perception, as LHSC was perceived as a large facility where the focus is on the process and equipment rather than on ordinary people and their personal needs.
Uncertainty about the facilities’ readiness
The third issue faced by HSRC, SJHC, and LHSC was the uncertainty about whether the facilities of LHSC would be large enough to provide sufficient space to locate the SJHC equipment and staff and to store the technological bases of the latter hospital. As noted by the director of both hospital nurseries Dr. Roukema, a lot of planning was done by the transfer managers, and still, there were doubts regarding the readiness of LHSC facilities to receive and ensure the proper functioning of all the operational departments of SJHC.
Governmental financial support and HSRC funding
One more important issue in the discussed situation was the uncertainty regarding the governmental financial support and the regularity of HSRC funding. In other words, the SJHC – LHSC transfer project managers considered the idea of addressing the government for financial aids to be a time- and effort-consuming matter, which could have delayed the process for an unknown time. At the same time, although HSRC funding was seemingly regular, there was no guarantee that it would be permanent and sufficient to complete the transfer process.
Potential team conflicts
Finally, the situation under discussion displayed one more issue, i. e. the potential for conflicts in the newly formed teams including the staff members of both SJHC and LHSC. The point was that the staff of LHSC would be perceived as the dominant in such teams, while SJHC employees might feel inferior in an environment that would be completely new for them. The stress associated with the transfer for SJHC workers would also increase the probability of team conflicts.