Development of a standardized ERU module for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) At Croix-Rouge Française

Project : RIPOSTE Project

Activity Objective: Development of a standardized ERU module for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)

Zone: France, Cameroon and DRC

Activity focal point(s) : Osama Afaneh: Technical Advisor, Public Health and Epidemiologie

Desired start date : 1st of July 2022

Desired end date : as per timeline and methodology below

Deadline for deliverables : as per timeline and methodology below

Activity duration : Estimated number of days: 55 days

BACKGROUND

• Framework and Rationale

Pandemics and epidemics (such as Ebola, VHF, SARS, cholera, diphtheria, Covid-19 , etc.) have shown that health care facilities can become disease amplifiers in the absence of effective infection control measures. IPC is one of the core pillars of the outbreak response. Therefore, adequate safe health care practices of IPC are crucial to control the dissemination of pathogens and are important to be able to control the outbreaks that may affect the communities. In addition, in some outbreak situations, health care workers have been severely affected, causing in many cases already weak healthcare systems to weaken even more or almost collapse, like in the example of the West Africa Ebola outbreak. Strengthening IPC during outbreaks in the health facilities in and around the affected area, will assist not only to diminishing the risk of spread of the infection into the community, but also in supporting the healthcare workers to be able to continue serving the community in a safer working environment.

The Red Cross and Red Crescents (IFRC) and Partner National Societies (PNS) collaborate and coordinate their technical work on Emergency Health through different working groups. The working groups members, building on experience and feedback from the field practice and aiming to support National Societies’ growing needs, have developed a multi sectoral Public Health (PH) ERU configuration including an ERU for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) component. ERUs are internationally standardized emergency response units consisting of teams of specialized personnel and equipment that can deploy at short notice to sudden and slow on-set disasters. They provide specific preventive as well as life-saving services when local facilities are destroyed, overwhelmed or non-existent.

An ERU handbook and IPC ERU package is currently being developed through a dedicated Working Group, under the lead of the Swedish Red Cross and participation of other National Societies including the French Red Cross. The IPC ERU teams will support and strengthen existing healthcare facilities in their capacity in IPC to continue essential health services in a safe manner during a sudden disaster onset including disease outbreaks. Primarily to prevent the health care facilities from spreading infectious agents and secondarily to enable the health facilities to continue their activities in a safer manner for staff and patients and therefore reduce morbidity and mortality affecting these communities. The IPC ERU Package includes the following elements: (1) a IPC ERU Deploiement Handbook, (2) Team composition and Job Descriptions, (3) Training Packages, (4) Equipment and material kits and packages, (5) Assessment tools, (6) IPC standard operating procedure (SOPs).

• Overview of the RIPOSTE program

Over the past few years, the international community has been impacted by widespread and frequent outbreaks of epidemics, driving the need for effective responses, but also demonstrating the importance of the role played by communities at the core of epidemic prevention, surveillance and response mechanisms. While humanitarian actors have focused on improving the effectiveness of clinical case management, there is still a gap in epidemic prevention and control efforts reflected a lack of local capacity, weak coordination and an absence of efficient and adapted approaches to different epidemic risks.

Health systems and disaster risk management are interdependent; for example in the impact of disasters on people’s health and well-being, the influence of climate change on people’s health and propagation of disease, and the increased vulnerability of populations to complex interrelated natural, epidemiological, and conflict-related risks. Despite this interdependence, these two systems still operate largely in silos, including for humanitarian action.

The RIPOSTE program aims to strengthen the capacities of institutional and civil society actors in the face of epidemics. The program focuses on improving the capacities of various health and disaster risk management actors in the prevention, preparation and response to epidemics. Furthermore, it will also strengthen the capacities of the Red Cross/Red Crescent (RCRC) National Societies, enabling them to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities in the face of epidemics, using the program’s resources (training, manuals, guides, revision of contingency plans, etc.). The various outputs will be disseminated to all humanitarian actors in French and English.

The objectives of the RIPOSTE program are to standardize epidemic preparedness and response approaches by providing concrete tools that can be used by stakeholders on the ground, and to facilitate the integration of DRR approaches in Epidemics preparedness and responses. Each tool developed will then be tested on the ground by the various teams. This work will help strengthen the capacities of local actors but also of international organizations working on epidemics to benefit affected populations.

The program intends to develop trainings, guides, approaches and guidelines, which will be tested in 3 sub-Saharan African countries (Guinea, Cameroon and DRC) and 2 regional intervention platforms of the French Red Cross positioned in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbeans (PIROI and PIRAC). Nevertheless, given the program’s objective and global approach, all the tools developed by the Program will be widely disseminated to all the countries in which the French Red Cross (FRC) operates. The FRC will also preposition equipment and material that will be used more broadly to respond to all types of epidemics in all countries.

OBJECTIVES, METHODOLOGY, RESULTS, ACTIVITIES

The overall goal of the IPC PH ERU module is to contribute to the reduction of mortality and morbidity due to transmission of infectious diseases in healthcare facilities during a crisis situation regardless of the cause of the crisis.

General objective The general objective of this consultancy is to finalize the ERU IPC package, and complement the work already carried out by the IPC ERU Working Group. This package is to be tested and adapted by being piloted in two countries of intervention of the FRC.

• Specific objectives

The general objective is articulated into multiple specific objectives, as follows:

• To create an IPC ERU Package that is deployable to support and strengthen existing healthcare facilities in their capacity in IPC to continue essential health services in a safe manner during a sudden disaster onset including disease outbreaks.
• To conduct pilot tests in collaboration with the IPC ERU Working Group in two countries and use feedback collected to improve and finalize the IPC ERU Package,
• To collaborate and consult with the IPC ERU working group to finalize the IPC ERU package.
• Methodology

The methodology will follow a systematic approach divided into five main phases:

• Phase 1 – Consultation Phase (maximum of 5 days) – Global level (HQ) During this phase, the consultant is expected to consult with the IPC ERU Working Group and the IFRC. The consultant is expected to get familiarized with the IPC ERU handbook draft, already developed tools of the package as well as define the scope of what needs to be done to finalize in consultation with the Working Group.
• Phase 2: Development Phase (maximum of 25 days) – Global level (HQ) During this phase, the consultant is expected to develop the below components of the IPC ERU Package:
  • Development of SOPs (maximum of 5 days): defining the list of needed SOPs, doing a mapping of referencial SOPs developed by health international organizations including the WHO, which would serve as a list of IPC SOPs that are to be used in case SOPs are not adopted by the Ministries of Health of countries of deploiement.
  • Development of Training Packages (maximum of 15 days): A training package includes training planning, lesson/exercise plans, facilitator guides, participants worksheets, evaluation forms, as well as visual aids. Two training packages are to be produced including:
    • Delegates trainings in a form of training of trainers (ToT) that targets training the ERU members before their deploiement.
    • Interventions trainings that are part of the intervention package to be conducted inside health care facilities during deployment (note: powerpoint presentations for those trainings are already developed.)
  • Development and definition of the package of services of the IPC ERU team and quantification of this package (maximum of 5 days): This would include definition of the package of material and equipment to be deployed with the IPC ERU team and quantifying them according to the expected population coverage of each deploiement.
  • Integrating all of the above mentioned into the IPC ERU Handbook.
• Phase 3: Piloting Phase(maximum of 15 days) – Field level During this phase the IPC ERU Package is to be tested in two countries of intervention of the French Red Cross (more specifically in Cameroon and DRC). Each pilot would include conducting the intervention training package as well as testing of the facility assessments and the material and equipment package. Feedback from the tests will be used to finalize the IPC ERU Package.
• Phase 4: Pilot Training of an ERU team (maximum of 5 days) – Global level A pilot training is also to be organized at the HQ level of the FRC where the delegation training is to be tested with potential ERU candidates. This will allow to integrate the feedback from the field tests as well as integrate a training of trainers component.
• Phase 5: Validation Phase (maximum of 5 days) – Global level Lessons drawn from the pilots (HQ and field) are to be reincorporated into the final IPC ERU Model to be finalized and validated by the IPC ERU Working Group and the IFRC.
• Expected deliverables

At the end of this consultancy, the following deliverables are expected to be done according to the timeline presented in the methodology section:

• A mapping of IPC SOPs
• The training packages including for the delegate trainings as well as the interventions trainings described above.
• A completed IPC Handbook
• A quantification of ERU material and equipment done.
• Minimum package of services of the IPC ERU identified.
• 2 pilot trainings conducted.
• Final IPC ERU Package validated.

PROCESSING OF OFFERS

• Profile of the consultant(s)
• Public Health background with understanding of epidemics prevention preparedness and response
• Knowledge and previous experience in IPC principals in a clinical setting
• Knowledge of the IFRC (or other equivalent) surge deployment mechanisms and concepts is an asset
• Experience producing and organizing trainings with experience in pedagogical approaches and tools
• Experience in public health/humanitarian/development sector
• Experience in multicultural contexts,
• Fluent french and english, both oral and written
• Excellent writing skills both in french and english
• Administrative clauses
• The contractor must provide proof at the time of submission of the regularity of their economic activity (tax documents, registration, registration as a self-employed person – depending on the country of reference where the contractor is established).
• The contractor alone must provide the means necessary for the accomplishment of their service, whether material or human: air tickets, computer, professional liability insurance.
• The contractor may delegate part of the mission, to another person of their choice within their team, but they remain the sole hierarchical and disciplinary authority for their employees. The contractor must ensure the security, and as such insure the consultants sent on missions.