Center for Resource Development Studies
CRDS a Bangladesh based International Consultancy House working in collaboration with a Netherland based Health focused consultancy organization is planning to participate in bidding for providing service to UNICEF Montenegro on quality assessment of MNH services.
In this regard we are looking for following consultants with advanced university degrees: (a) international maternal health specialist (1 position), (2) international pediatrics/neo-natalogist (1 position), and (3) international midwife (1 position) .
· Each of the three proposed team members should have at least ten years of progressive professional experience in the field of MNH.
· The proposed team members need to be familiar with respective WHO and UNICEF standards on quality care (e.g. WHO and UNICEF BFHI 2018-2020; WHO standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities, 2016; WHO standards for improving quality of care for small and sick newborns in health facilities, 2020; WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience, 2022 – as relevant for this assignment).
· Each of the three proposed team members should have at least three experiences in evaluation/assessments of the quality of maternal and newborn care.
· At least one of the proposed team members should have work experience in South-East or Eastern Europe. Previous work experience in Montenegro will be considered as an asset.
· At least one of the proposed team member should have previous work experience with UNICEF.
· Excellent command of both spoken and written English.
If the assignment is awarded to the consortium, then the following tasks are expected to be completed:
1. Desk review and preparation for the field mission (remotely). This should entail:
o Review of the quality assessment report conducted in 2016 and Montenegro’s healthcare system analyses and reports shared by UNICEF Country Office.
o Preparation for the mission and planning of field work jointly with the team, national partners and UNICEF. Preparation of the timeline of the assignment including assessment mission. The average time needed to evaluate one facility is one and a half to two full days depending on the hospital size, but is likely to take one day in each of the four PHCs providing EmOC. When developing the timetable, travel time should be included and local working hours and holidays taken into consideration.
o Coordination of selection of the national team of co-assessors in consultation with UNICEF and national partners (e.g. obstetricians, midwives, neonatologists, and interviewers) to allow for capacity building and ensure a pool of national experts will be available for subsequent activities.
o The tool adaptation if it is needed. The adaptation may include selecting or deleting some chapters or subchapters of the tool.
2. Facilitating a half-day meeting (this can be an online meeting) with the Ministry of Health, key partners and stakeholders to present the WHO quality assessment tool and assessment goal and timeline. In advance of the meeting, the following should be submitted to UNICEF:
o Draft meeting agenda.
o Presentations (slide deck) for the meeting.
3. Facilitate one day workshop for the national co-assessors (face-to-face in Montenegro). In advance of the meeting, the following should be submitted to UNICEF:
o Draft workshop agenda.
o Presentations (slide deck) for the workshop.
4. Conduct quality assessment of hospital care for mothers and newborn babies in 8 maternities and 4 PHC facilities providing EmOC (in Montenegro, combined with the above workshop on the same visit to Montenegro) and the neonatal intensive care unit (in the capital Podgorica). This task includes the following actions:
o The assessment visit should include all relevant services: admission, labour and birth areas, units for normal and for complicated pregnancy, postpartum, special care nursery, neonatal intensive care unit (in the capital Podgorica only), outpatient and emergency area, pharmacy, laboratory, blood bank, etc.
o Assessment team members should focus on various units and departments according to their expertise.
o An adequate number of clinical records, as specified in the tool chapters, need to be assessed to judge how a specific condition is usually managed.
o A minimum number of confidential interviews with women should be made.
o Each assessor will take notes of strengths and weaknesses in each topic and attribute a score to each item they are assessing using the information gathered from different sources.
o At the end of each subchapter and chapter, the overall score for the section should be recorded as the main strengths and weaknesses, which provide inputs for the feedback session.
o At the end of the assessment, the assessors team hold a meeting to discuss findings and agree on the final assessment conclusion: scoring, strengths and weakness.
o Arrange a feedback meeting at the end of the assessment and invite managers and staff members (both doctors and nurses) and provide the scoring, strengths and weakness in writing to the designated hospital/PHC representative.
5. Providing feedback at the national level to the Ministry of Health, key partners and stakeholders at a feedback/action planning workshop (face-to-face during a second visit to Montenegro). In advance of the meeting, the following should be submitted to UNICEF:
o Draft meeting agenda
o Analysis of the results of all assessments and overall scoring and a draft of national recommendations to be refined during the feedback/action planning workshop.
o Presentations (slide deck) for the workshop.
6. Finalizing national-level recommendations and action plan jointly with the Ministry of Health and designated professionals from maternities (remotely, using online consultations as required).
o Finalize national findings and recommendations on improvement of quality of care, including to reach marginalized groups and fulfill the right to health of women and babies.
o Finalize action plan based on findings and recommendations (this may require online consultations)
o Submit all deliverables to UNICEF.
Deliverables should be prepared in English language
Requirement
· All three team members should hold advanced university degrees.
· Each of the three team members should have at least ten years of progressive professional experience in the field of MNH.
· The team members need to be familiar with respective WHO and UNICEF standards on quality care (e.g. WHO and UNICEF BFHI 2018-2020; WHO standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities, 2016; WHO standards for improving quality of care for small and sick newborns in health facilities, 2020; WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience, 2022 – as relevant for this assignment).
· Each of the three team members should have at least three experiences in evaluation/assessments of the quality of maternal and newborn care.
· At least one team member should have work experience in South-East or Eastern Europe. Previous work experience in Montenegro will be considered as an asset.
· At least one team member should have previous work experience with UNICEF.
· Excellent command of both spoken and written English
How to apply
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Interested experts are requested to contact at [email protected] and a copy to [email protected] with a copy of CV on or before February 03, 2023.