The Regional Workshop for Improving Quality of Hospital Care for Maternal and Newborn Health was organized to introduce the concept of hospital improvement process and build capacity of hospital teams focusing on care of mothers and new-borns at childbirth and early newborn care. Hospital teams consisting of health-care professionals (obstetrics, paediatricians, neonatologists and midwives) and a hospital manager from Member States were trained so that they could become advocates and role models for hospital improvement processes and facilitate subsequent initiatives in the countries. This is in line with the Regional Framework for Improving Quality of Care for RMNCAH that has been published by WHO-SEARO in collaboration with Member States and partners for providing support to countries to establish/strengthen and implement QI mechanisms.
For introducing the model of hospital/health facilities improvement and to build capacity of national hospital teams, a package prepared by WHO-SEARO, WHOCC and USAID-ASSIST was used. In addition to the hospital teams, participants included a QI focal point in ministries of health who are responsible for quality of care, and representatives of professional associations and development partners. The report presents the proceedings and recommendations from the regional meeting.