Assignment
Scenario:
The government of the country of St. Augusta, a small island in the Caribbean, ratified a regional decision to decentralize the country's health system to make the health services more effective in responding to the needs of the population. There was the urgent need to enable the resources allocated for healthcare to be utilized efficiently, and a patient centered approach to how care and services are delivered.
There are specific goals to be achieved in this health sector reform process:
1) Improved health equity;
2) Greater responsiveness to the health care needs of the communities;
3) Social and financial risk reduction
4) Improved performance all the country's health organisations
5) Improved quality of care
To implement this extensive change the government received funds from USAID. This major health sector initiative involve the decentralisation of the management of health services at the parish and hospital levels so that critical decision-making can take place appropriately and timely, with the full understanding of the needs of citizens. USAID experts in Health Sector Reform were assigned to work with counterparts in the island's health system to implement this decentralized process. It is expected that the Ministry of Health will concentrate on the ongoing policy making, monitoring and evaluation of the country's health system.
The Evolutionary Project was administered through the Ministry of Development (MoD). A local project Manager from MoD had overall administrative responsibility for the project. Local experts were recruited by the Project Manager and interviewed by the USAID experts and prepared as facilitators for the training sessions. Each team to be trained comprised the Hospital Administrator/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Human Resource Manager, Matron and the Senior Medical Officer. A Law was enacted to facilitate the decentralization process.
Part I
As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a major hospital who obtained training in the Evolutionary Project described in the scenario:
i. Explain the strategies that you the CEO would implement to decentralize the services in your hospital with respect to the structure and processes.
ii. Describe how you would address the overall goals of social and financial risk reduction and improved efficiency in your hospital.
Part II
The World Health Organization indicates that the primary intent of health systems is to promote health, restore and maintain health. These functions must be done through a well prepared health workforce.
i. Explain two approaches that you would take to ensure that your health care system has a well prepared workforce
ii. Describe three strategies would you enforce to promote health and influence quality health outcomes in your health system.
Part III
"Partnerships can produce innovative strategies and positive consequences for well-defined public health goals, and they can create powerful mechanisms for addressing difficult problems by leveraging the ideas, resources, and expertise of different partners" (Reich, M. (2002), Public-Private Partnerships for Public Health. Harvard Series on Population and International Health, Harvard University Press. pp. 2-3.
With this statement in mind:
i. Describe three ways in which partnerships and inter-sectoral collaboration can strengthen the delivery of health services.
ii. Analyze critically four areas of engagement that you would consider before enlisting partnerships to enhance the implementation of goals in your health system.
iii. Outline three defining attributes that in your opinion foster successful partnerships