Overview
The Ministry of Health (MoH) in a Pacific Island country is planning to redevelop its hospital network as part of efforts to increase equitable access to a wider range of clinical services, ensure that its health services are climate and disaster-resilient, and strengthen public health infrastructure. International SOS is providing ongoing technical assistance to the MoH to design and implement a methodology that reflects best practice in hospital redevelopments.
Objectives
The MoH sought technical assistance to develop a methodology, engage stakeholders, and produce a pathway to new clinical services models and master plans (as required) for its national hospital network. The MoH’s objective is to design a process that will ensure that hospital services and infrastructure are well-functioning, fit-for-purpose, resilient to climate change and natural hazards, and meet the health needs of the population now and into the future.
Inputs
International SOS was initially engaged to prepare a Briefing Paper outlining the steps required to redevelop a hospital and conduct two in-country missions to undertake consultations with key health sector stakeholders.
Drawing on local knowledge of the health, climate, and infrastructure context in the country, and our experience in best practice health facility design, we proposed a three-phase methodology based on the need for hospital redevelopments to draw on a solid understanding of the population structure, burden of disease, demand for healthcare services, and the service capacity of the health ecosystem. Social inclusion, gender analysis, and climate and disaster risk reduction principles are incorporated into the methodology.
Outcomes
The three-phase methodology received health sector endorsement and was embedded into the project. The project team were invited back into the country to facilitate a hospital leadership and health sector workshop to design a governance structure for the project, clarify partner involvement, and capture baseline data on the clinical and built environment capacity and capability of the hospitals.
Following the workshop, the methodology and pathway was approved by the MoH and Phase 1, with ongoing technical support from International SOS, kicked off with an in-country Inception Workshop in November 2023.