Continuity of essential health services: Facility assessment tool


The Continuity of essential health services: Facility Assessment Tool can be used by countries to rapidly assess the capacity of health facilities to maintain the provision of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can help to alert the authorities and other stakeholders about where service delivery and utilization may require modification and/or investment. This assessment tool covers the following aspects of essential health services:

Overview

Use and content

The Continuity of essential health services: Facility Assessment Tool can be used by countries to rapidly assess the capacity of health facilities to maintain the provision of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can help to alert the authorities and other stakeholders about where service delivery and utilization may require modification and/or investment. This assessment tool covers the following aspects of essential health services:

  • health workforce (numbers, absences, COVID-19 infections, health workforce management, training and support);
  • financial management and barriers;
  • service delivery and utilization (facility closures, changes in service delivery, community communication campaigns, changes in service utilization and catch-up strategies);
  • IPC capacities (protocols, safety measures, guidelines and the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff);
  • availability of therapeutics, diagnostics and supplies, and vaccine readiness; and
  • provision of COVID-19 primary care services.

    The tool can be used in multiple types of health facilities. It can be used once to provide a rapid snapshot of current service capacity, or on a regular basis for tracking and monitoring the continuity of essential health services during the different phases of the pandemic.

    Target audiences

    Potential users of this assessment tool include:

  • national and subnational health authorities;
  • national and subnational COVID-19 incident management teams;
  • facility managers; and
  • WHO and other partners.

Key questions this module helps to answer

This tool can help to answer the following questions related to the provision of essential health care:

  • How many staff are available in each facility? How many staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19? What adjustments to health workforce management have been made? Is additional training and support being provided to health-care workers?
  • Is the facility charging user fees during the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • Are staff salaries being paid on time? Are staff receiving overtime pay?
  • How has the delivery of services unrelated to COVID-19 changed (for example, have there been facility closures or service delivery modifications)?
  • How has service utilization increased or decreased and what are the main reasons for those changes?
  • Has the facility implemented any community communication campaigns?
  • Has the facility made catch-up plans for missed routine appointments?
  • Are safety processes and protocols in place to ensure the safe delivery of health services?
  • Do health workers have sufficient PPE to deliver essential services safely?
  • Do facilities have therapeutics, diagnostic tests and supplies available for the delivery of essential health services?
  • Do facilities have functioning cold chain capacity?
  • Does the facility provide “COVID-19 primary care services” (detection, diagnosis, treatment, referral, rehabilitation, contact tracing, etc.)? What changes and support did this involve?

When to use

This tool can be used from the early stages of an emergency to recovery and continuity after recovery.

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