• Scope of action
  • Health systems ad policies, health planning and hospital management
  • Hospital design and medical equipment projects
• Means of action

Scope of action

Health systems and policies, health planning and hospital management

For over twenty years now, ACODESS has gained skills and experience at the international level in many fields of health planning and management, hospital organization and public health.

• Health systems and policies

ACODESS has developed expertise in the provision of technical advice and assistance to health ministries and local health representatives, particularly in cost control, hospital policy development and health planning.

• Health care management

ACODESS has become an acknoweledged leader in this field. The modernisation of health services and hospitals is of particular concern for health ministries and for funding organisations.

ACODESS has built up exceptional skill and experience in various fields, especially in management training, economics and health service financing, cost recovery systems, self-governing hospitals and managerial autonomy, community participation and design of health care networks.

• Public health

ACODESS has developed programmes for public health cooperation mainly based on primary health care, community health, psychiatry, prevention policies, particularly as regards health risks such as addiction problems. All these activities form an important dimension of the ACODESS approach to implementation and management of health systems.

• Medical cooperation and nursing care

At the request of its partners from Southern countries, ACODESS has undertaken many technical assistance and training programmes for doctors and nurses. These programmes cover not only medical and clinical techniques but also medical management and health care management.

• Evaluation

ACODESS has also developed a real expertise and a specific know-how, in the field of projects' evaluation and assessment.

Before the implementation of projects and programmes, this expertise concerns feasibility studies and audits. They provide the analysis of a project's opportunity, of its objectives and its modes of action, in a given political, social and economic context with specific health needs. ACODESS also carries out retrospective evaluations dealing with health policies, strategies and programmes of co-operation.

• Quality - accreditation

Quality, accreditation and certification issues are integrated in all ACODESS programmes. On its partners' request, ACODESS also develops specific " quality programmes ", as well as health care services and hospital accreditation programmes that are suited to developing countries' constraints/features.

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Hospital design and medical equipment projects

Hospitals in developing countries are confronted with the escalation in the costs of biomedical equipment, due to advances in medical technology. ACODESS provides technical advice and assistance to health ministries and hospitals in this particularly sensitive area.

ACODESS biomedical engineers and economists have set up a   programme model of action covering all the necessary steps for the procurement, management and maintenance of medical equipment: a priori assessment of needs, equipment specifications and terms of reference, organization of calls for tender, selection of firms and drawing-up of commercial contracts, then follow-up and supervision of contractual performances.

In order to guarantee the viability of hospital design projects, ACODESS performs a global process of actions, in tight partnership with the recipient countries.

ACODESS services of technical advice and assistance on the design, procurement, implementation and follow-up of medical equipment projects, include:

• Phase 1: Support to the definition of needs
  • adequacy of the proprosed equipment plan in terms of public health needs, socio-economic requirements and the hospital medical activity
  • integration of the equipment project within the hospital business plan
  • economic and financial analysis of the equipment plan: available resources, running costs, budget planning, evaluation of the financial impact
  • skills and knowledge in equipment management and maintenance: review of the technical and human resources

• Phase 2:Technical assistance with the equipment procurement
  • design of the technical specifications for the equipment
  • definition of the relevant maintenance services, supply of spare parts, warranty periods, training required for users and technicians
  • procurement procedures
  • review of the technical and financial proposals
  • analysis of the commercial contracts

• Phase 3: Technical assistance with the implementation and follow-up of the equipment project

Verification of the conformity of:

• remodelling work and technical pre-installations
• delivery and commissioning of the equipment
• supply of spare parts, disposables and reagents
• training programmes for technicians and users
• warranty and aftersales service

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Means of action

ACODESS favors in-depth and long-term actions which ensure sustainable development, enabling the beneficiary hospitals and health care services to pursue their own development strategy to respond to the specific health care needs of the local population.

The ACODESS approach is based on joint management and implementation of projects with its foreign partners in order to ensure that projects are kept on course and that its technical expertise is responding to the expressed needs of the beneficiary health institutions. The mutual benefit gained through the sharing of technical and human resources contributes to maximising the effectiveness of the collaboration.

• From needs assessment to project design

Project study and assessment :

Includes the study of health sector policies and national priorities, social and economic requirements, juridical framework of health systems, assessment of the medical activity performance, financial and technical organization of health care services and hospitals, review of technical and human resources and training components, etc.

Project feasibility study in terms of public health needs and technical requirements:

Project formulation: recommendations in terms of public health priorities, strategic orientations, precautionary measures, benefits and risks.

Detailed definition of projects:

Detailed engineering and design of projects, including preparation of technical specifications, cost estimates, skills and competences required, project management and assessment process.

• Provision of technical assistance, consulting services and training

Technical assistance and consulting services

ACODESS provides services of technical advice and assistance combining various means of intervention, such as : knowledge transfer and skills enhancement, setting-up of on-site pilot experiments, strenghtening of management skills and qualification, support to the design of vocational and profesional materials, implementation of project follow-up and assessment procedures.

Training of health professionals (managers, clinicians, technicians...)

ACODESS training programmes for health care specialists do not only consider the public health priorities of the beneficiary countries and the population health care needs but also the level of development of the hospitals where trainees will carry out their duties.

As regards training programmes for health administrators and hospital managers of beneficiary countries, ACODESS collaborated with national schools of public health, on the design and preparation of educational materials, as well as on the implementation of training courses and training for trainers.

ACODESS has also undertaken training programmes for doctors, nurses and maintenance technicians, which combined on-site training sessions and internships in French hospitals.

• Technical studies and assessment missions

ACODESS mobilizes human resources, with suitable qualification and capacity to perform various types of technical studies and assessment missions:

• Project technical pre-feasibility or feasibility studies
• Project assessment missions
• Sector studies (health sector policies and reforms)

Some examples of ACODESS assignments :

• Evaluation missions in three public health institutions of Niamey, district hospitals and maternities : technical study of management and financing concerns, cost recovery system, decentralisation, role and duties of executives, juridical statutes...
• Assessment mission (6 months) regarding training programmes in the health care sector financed by the French Cooperation in Sub-saharian Africa from 1987 to 1997.
• Feasibility study of a medical equipment project at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (Lucknow, India) : review and definition of technical, institutional, economic and financial requirements for the procurement, implementation and follow-up of high tech. medical equipment.

• Submission of proposals (international call for tenders)

ACODESS specialises in international health consultancy within projects financed by international funding organizations, such as the European Union and Regional Development banks.

In this framework, ACODESS renders consulting services of engineering and design (preparation of project specifications and terms of reference) or in submitting proposals within international call for tenders, whether or not in collaboration with others European or International health institutions.

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