Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Iraq

Standard Operation Procedure for Facility and Equipment Maintenance Management in Primary Health Care Clinics in Iraq

Attachments

Introduction

USAID funded/ Primary Health Care Project in Iraq (PHCPI) in cooperation with Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) aims to promote Primary Health Care (PHC) services provided by Primary Health Care Clinics (PHCCs) in Iraq in order to achieve the development goal in enhancing the PHC provision system through achieving the following results:

First: Enhancing management and operations systems, which support clinical care.

Second: Improving the quality of the delivered PHC according to quality standards.

Third: Enhancing and expanding local community participation and partnership in PHC.

Maintaining the medical & service devices in the hospitals and health clinics besides making them function according to the adapted standard specifications, lead to providing most efficient medical services for people and accomplish the purposes for which they were invented. Maintenance and repair of facilities and infrastructure, and keeping them safe and clean are also of the important approaches for the results referred to in (first) and (second) above. This can be achieved through enhancing and developing facilities, and medical & service devices management.

This guideline seeks to develop work mechanism for engineers, technicians and the PHCCs’ facilities and medical & service equipment maintenance workers; clarify the concept of maintenance, its importance and classifications in health area, its planning and implementation, the tasks and duties of other directorates and departments of the Ministry in relation to all kinds of maintenance. Add to that preparing documents and forms, which are used in documenting and monitoring the steps required to be accomplished in the maintenance of PHCCs’ facilities and medical & service equipment, for the equipment to perform the best possible services for people and get their satisfaction.

This guideline covers the procedures required in managing maintenance, repair, monitoring and supervision at PHCCs for the following fields:

  • The building and floors
  • Medical & service equipment
  • Occupational Health and Safety
  • Public Cleanliness and Sterilization
  • Linens and laundry
  • Medical and general wastes management

Before going into the details, it is important to be acquainted with the nature of the services provided by PHCCs, their types and their development provisions according to Iraqi MOH regulations and sorting, and to explain maintenance concept and kinds.