Mugana hospital hailed for the quality of health care

SafeCare is an international initiative that aims to help health facilities in developing countries to progressively meet internationally recognized standards of care approved by the Ministry of Health, as they improve the quality of care provided by SafeCare. Level 1 to excellence in quality, SafeCare level 5.

The SafeCare initiative was launched in 2011 in Cape Town (South Africa) and implementation in Tanzania began in 2012. [19659002] Up to June 2014, approximately 50 (50) Most of them benefited from loans to improve the quality of care voluntarily enrolled in the program and only a few institutions (less than 10 pc) were able to ascend in the quality scale SafeCare.

In July 2014, the Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) funded PharmAccess International (PAI) to implement a four-year Business of Quality (BOQ) project to extend this initiative across the country. The project is implemented in collaboration with the Christian Commission of Social Services (CSSC), the Association of Private Health Institutions of Tanzania (APHFTA) and the Association of Private Nurses and Midwives of Tanzania ( PRINMAT)

. and the commercial performance of 475 sites in the country. In addition, the project aims to promote sectoral acceptance of the fact that with structured support, Tanzanian facilities are able to meet internationally recognized standards of care that emphasize safety and security of health. patients and the effectiveness of care.

Thanks to regular technical support provided by CSSC and PharmAccess, there has been a big change in quality, where the majority of facilities have scaled up the quality of a level to the other. In March 2018, PharmAccess saw the first champion in quality, Mugana Hospital, move from Level 2 (in 2015) to Level 5, the highest.

"After two years of implementation, encouraging results have shown that facilities in Tanzania can comply with internationally recognized standards of care and improve from one level to another. Other few institutions have climbed the SafeCare quality ladder, the highest level of quality attained by the highest performing level 3, but the majority (95 pc) of institutions have remained at the lowest level. level, level 1 ". Dr. Peter Risha, Director of PharmAccess Tanzania's SafeCare Program

"HDIF is thrilled to be part of this success as it demonstrates that it is truly possible for a hospital in Tanzania to comply with standards of care internationally recognized, to achieve excellence in quality in the available resources ". says the HDIF team leader, David McGinty.

McGinty concluded by saying that the commitment of management and hospital staff had the desire to be the best of the best, with support provided by the CSSC being one of the factors that made this dream a reality. The Mugana Hospital will be the bright star that will be followed by others, provided the achievements are sustainable.

Speaking of the completion of the Mugana Hospital, Dr. Josephine Balati, Health Director of the SCCS, stated that it is crucial that caregivers respect best practices, even when resources are limited. Awarded informs the community of where to go to get quality services and set the example to other institutions for them to adopt such initiatives.

The health care delivery system in Tanzania is riddled with many challenges, including the availability of adequate resources for the delivery of quality services. Even when resources have been made available, patient safety and the effectiveness of care have been a risk when best practices are not put in place.