Training on Safe Hospitals in Disasters Module 3: Action Planning for “Safe Hospitals”

Module Overview Knowing about possible hospital hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities is just the first step in ensuring an emergency and disaster safe hospital. For existing hospitals, actions will have to be taken to mitigate for the gaps that have been identified, and for still to be built hospitals, policies on ensuring safety should have be put in place. In this module, you will be developing, in response to gaps identified in Module 2, action plans which you are expected to bring back to you own institution for further discussion and possible implementation. To facilitate action planning, short inputs on prioritizing strategies and action planning will be given.

Module Objectives At the end of this session, you will be able to: –Utilize decision making tools in identifying the most appropriate strategy for an identified goal or objective. –Prepare an action plan for three critical gaps in each of the three “Safe Hospitals” components. –Present action plan to hospital decision makers.

Program of Activities Action plan: Why and How –1 hour –Lecture /input and Small Group activity Formulation of an Action Plan –3 hours –Lecture / input and Small group activity Presentation of Action Plan –3 hours –Plenary session

Prioritizing strategies Key points: –It is important that we prioritize strategies because the target hospital may not have all the resources needed to implement proposed strategies. –There are several techniques that you can use in prioritizing strategies. One of the techniques is the use of Decision Matrix. –In making decisions, make sure relevant stakeholders take active roles. Use the suggested steps for using a Decision Matrix.

Prioritizing Strategies for an Identified Gap Using a Decision Matrix How to construct a DM: Select criteria for evaluating your alternatives. –Spend as much time as necessary because these criteria are the guiding principles by which you will evaluate alternatives Write the criteria (e.g. cost, acceptability, ease of implementation, time involved, etc.) in the boxes along the top of a matrix chart Decide on the relative weight of each criterion.

Prioritizing Strategies for an Identified Gap Using a Decision Matrix

Focus up front on primary goals Results is as good as criteria used. So, select criteria carefully. Suspend criticism until you have generated an array of possibilities If your results bother you, trust your instincts. Acknowledge that some solutions are simple and some are not.

Small Group Activity on Action Planning Instructions for all groups: To facilitate accomplishment of the expected output of 9 action plans per hospital team, It is suggested that you have a division of labor among the members of your group initially, and then present your individual output to your group for refinement and consensus and then prepare for presentation in the plenary session in the afternoon. An advice and reminder: as you formulate the action plan, always have in mind that you are expected to bring it back to your institution for implementation. You will be given 3 hours to formulate an action plan for three critical gaps in each of the three “Safe Hospitals” components.

Small Group Activity on Action Planning STEP 1: Prioritizing Strategies –For each gap identified, list possible interventions or strategies (broad categories) –Use Decision Matrix to prioritize strategies. List criteria and guide for scoring. This is context specific, so teams may actually use different criteria. Score each alternative Add score and rank –Repeat the procedure for the rest of the gaps.

Small Group Activity on Action Planning Identify gaps Decision matrix

Small Group Activity on Action Planning STEP 2: Write detailed action plan –After you have prioritized all your strategies then your next steps are the following: a) selecting activities; b) determining your timeframe; c) identifying resources needed identifying responsible persons. –Prepare a PowerPoint presentation or if not available, OHPs

Small Group Activity on Action Planning Action plan matrix

Presentation of action plan Instruction to hospital teams: –Limit your presentation 10 minutes. –As much as possible, use Powerpoint presentation so that all participants can clearly see the presentation. –After presentation be ready to answer clarificatory questions. –It is expected that each hospital team will commit to bring their formulated action plans back to their respective institutions for further discussion and refinement and hopefully for presentation to top management or executive committee for approval and for implementation.

Thank you very much!