Quality Improvement of Syrian Health Sector Modernization Programme..

Objective:
To assist the MoH and the Health Sector Modernisation Programme, particularly the Health Directorates at Governorate level and PHC Sector on one side and the concerned Directorates of the Ministry of Health and selected pilot Hospitals on the other side, to elaborate a realistic framework for quality improvement and accompany the process of quality improvements.
This process may lead from the definition of quality standards and quality procedures to quality assessment and control, quality assurance to quality management approaches.

Tasks:
Central level and hospital sector

1. Collect the available information and documentation on Quality in health care in Syria;
2. Review the list of persons, committees, institutions and public structures involved in Quality Management (development of: policy/strategy development for Quality, Quality standard development, Quality Control and Quality Assurance, etc.);
3. Identify key areas of quality improvement at central and hospital level;
4. Assist the MoH to review the National Quality Management Strategy (define realistic goals for quality Assurance and incidators for the achievement of goals, considering available man power - the function of a National Adviser on Quality in the Health Sector - , financial resources and time);
5. Plan the necessary activities for the MoH and Hospital Sector to come over Quality Control to Quality Assurance and Quality;
6. Cooperate with the LTE for Hospital Management and the LTE in Management of the HSMP;
7. Review the framework for sustainable, internationally valid and reliable national plan for accreditation of healthcare organisations in Syria; assist in the preparation of a accreditation manual for Syria;
8. Assist in the selection of certification standards, tools and methodology within the operational and legal framework; prepare pilot accreditation projects for three tertiary care hospitals aiming at quality patient care;
9. Identify training needs (central and hospital level) and training possibilities for quality management (local and regional);
10. Plan and implement QA activities in cooperation with managers, clinicians and other frontliners of at least three hospitals;
11. Assist in the quality design and planning: development of standards, protocols and guidelines for QA in the context of hospital performance measures (employee's training, HR development and research programmes should have a focus and purpose consistent with QM approach);
12. Assist in the design of monitoring systems for QA in hospitals; focus the Hospital Management Information System on performance data and particularly on the process of improving performance;
13. Assist in redrawing hospital organisational charts and the managerial flows;
14. Organise training of team coaches (development of national experts panels, teams of clinicians, etc.);
15. Initiate and supervise utilisation reviews, audits, peer reviews, mortality and morbidity review in selected hospitals, reviews on the quality of nursing care, reviews on staff and patients satisfaction by simple standardised tools.

Governorate level and PHC:

1. Review the existing quality assurance and quality management practices in PHC in Syria
2. Coach local staff in designing and executing operational research addressing different dimensions of quality and quality management
3. Develop and institutionalize a total quality management functions in the governorate health directorates,
4. Train local staff to run the total quality management unit at the governorate and district levels,
5. Coach local staff in developing a facility accreditation system and executing accreditation activities for PHC facilities,
6. Develop a professional education system, including development of curricula, devising of educational materials and training of trainers.
7. Improve the quality of medical records and their utilization in monitoring quality of services and functions.