Transcript Getting the most out of donations of medical equipment

A look at some of the main
medical equipment issues in
Haiti
Ismael Cordero, Clinical Engineer
Consultant for ORBIS International
Haiti Eye Care Symposium
May 18-20, 2012
Port au Prince, Haiti
3 Categories of Equipment
Problems
1. Donations
2. Maintenance and repair services
3. Procurement
Donations- Proportion of medical
equipment in Haiti that is donated…
A Lot!
Donations- Problems
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Not designed for the environment
Obsolete
Not compatible with local clinical practices
Broken, not fully functional, or missing accessories
Requires expensive or impossible to find consumables
& accessories
No operation manuals (or in the wrong language)
No service manuals
No repair parts
Not repairable in country
Too many different types of models (no
standardization)
The Iceberg Principle
Donations- Why are they usually lessthan-ideal?
Poor -or nocommunication
between donor
and recipient!
Donations- Poor Communication
• donors lack awareness of the local realities of
the intended recipients
• donors and recipients often do not
communicate as equal partners in the pursuit
of a common goal
• recipients have difficulty articulating to the
donor how best they can be helped
• the recipient’s circumstances may lead them to
believe that anything is better than nothing
Donations- Changing the Dynamics
donor
↘
recipient
Donations- Changing the Dynamics
donor ↔ recipient
Donations- Changing the
Terminology
donor ↔ recipient
solicitor
Donations- Some things that can
be done
• Standard equipment lists of models prepared
by solicitors
• Priority equipment needs lists prepared by
solicitors
• Checklists for donors
• Checklists for solicitors
• Solicitors should reject inappropriate
donations- donation policy
• Signed MoUs between donors and solicitors
WHO guidelines
for
medical device
donations
- Adapt to
Haiti’s reality
and needs
- Develop and
distribute by
SHO/CNCP
Maintenance- problems
• Very few technicians available to repair
medical equipment
• Very few hospitals with biomedical equipment
technicians on staff
• The technicians that are available have not
received specialized medical device training
• Technical schools not offering diplomas for
medical equipment maintenance
• Spare parts not available locally
Maintenance- possible solution
• Create a small independent equipment
maintenance service available to all eye care
providers
– Train two or three technicians on common eye
care equipment
– Provide specialized factory training for
sophisticated devices
– Equip with tools, manuals, physical space
– Charge nominal fee for services
– Endorsed and monitored by SHO/CNCP
Procurement- problems
• Procurement not possible within Haiti
• Shipment and Customs barriers
• Procurement performed overseas by each
doctor individually
• No standardization on models
• No discounts for bulk purchasing
• No strong relationships with vendors
Procurement- possible solution
• Procurement performed by equipment
maintenance service for a small fee
• Eye care providers to agree on standard
preferred models
• Buy several of the same devices instead of one
at a time
• Share expensive sophisticated devices
WHO guidelines
for
medical device
procurement
- Adapt to
Haiti’s reality
and needs
- Develop and
distribute by
SHO/CNCP
Maintenance- problems
• Many different brands and models of
equipment- no standardization
• Many devices are obsolete
• No budgets for repairs and spare parts
Thank You!
[email protected]