Through our partnership with Caritas Freetown, HealeyIRF is committed to providing capacity training to healthcare staff to ensure that quality care is provided at the hospitals and clinics we support.
Recently two workshops were held. One on Quality Improvement and Mentorship and the second on the Rational Use of Medicines. Both were held at Christ the King Hospital in Waterloo and included twenty-three staff from St. Anthony’s Clinic, Stella Maris Clinic, Monsignor Daniel Sullivan Clinic, and Christ the King Hospital.
Identifying & Analyzing Problems
The Quality Improvement Training encompassed five days of workshops. Training was interactive with short lectures, small group discussions, case studies, role playing, games, and other exercises.
Participants learned to develop process maps to identify and address bottlenecks in service delivery at their facilities. They focused on the Plan – Do – Study – Act cycle and how this process could aid in problem solving at their facilities.
During the training it was noted by the facilitators that there were some knowledge gaps in obstetric protocols among the participants. So this was able to be used as a real example to work through and develop a solution. After utilizing some of their new skills the agreed upon recommendation to improve quality was to make sure that the obstetric protocols were displayed prominently in the health facilities.
Participants described the training as informative, exciting, new, and enjoyable. A request was made to have a refresher course in six months. In addition, quality improvement committees will be organized and formed at each facility.
“This training was really important to us in improving the quality of care we give our patients, most especially the pregnant women,” explained Zainab Fofanah, Acting Matron at Christ the King Hospital.
Rational Use of Medicines
Another critical area to help improve the quality of care is in the rational use of medicines. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that “more than half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that half of all patients fail to take them correctly.” Further the WHO notes, “the overuse, under-use or misuse of medicine results in wastage of scarce resources and widespread health hazards.”
The training emphasized that patients must receive medications appropriate to their needs, in doses that meet their individual requirements, and for the appropriate period of time.
“We must show responsibility in giving our drugs,” stated Princess George from Stella Maris Clinic. “The training also taught us you have to provide education to your patients about the proper use of the medicines.”
“As a health coordinator all these trainings make me so very happy,” said Sister Josephine Amara, Health Coordinator at Caritas Freetown. “They help us stay a step ahead in our delivery of quality healthcare services at our facilities and we thank HealeyIRF for supporting this critical capacity training.”
