International Consultant– Emergency Medicine Service and Critical Care Services

Purpose of consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to work with WHO country office of Timor Leste to strengthen the Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Services in the Timor Leste. It is to collaborate with WHO South-East Asia Regional Office and WHO Headquarters Clinical Services and Systems Unit to support emergency care systems and Critical Care services strengthening activities in Timor Leste. The consultant will work closely with the National Hospital, 5 Referral Hospitals, the Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office (Timor-Leste).

Background

The primary health care facilities in Timor Leste are backed up by five regional / referral hospitals and one national hospital with Ministry of Health (MOH) being the major player as a governing agency as well as a provider of comprehensive health care supported by WHO and other partners.

Timor Leste’s existing intensive care unit capacity which was only available at the national hospital Guido Valadares with 5-6 beds only is expanding in response to Covid19 pandemic. At this moment, the government of Timor-Leste through Ministry of Health, with the support from development partners and UN agencies have put many efforts in establishing new intensive care units for COVID-19 which are in Lahane Hospital with around 25 beds, Vera-Cruz isolation centre with around 4-5 beds and HNGV. In addition, it is also planned to establish at least “High Dependency Units” at other five referral hospitals including Regional Hospital Baucau HoREX to manage moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients. Emergency Care services are provided in the country through similar mechanisms and Emergency departments at respective hospitals.

There is still significant need for further upgrading the Emergency Medicine service and Critical Care Services in the country. This again is because of the limitation of the infrastructure, skilled human resource, equipment, transportation and referral services remains as challenges that need to be addressed with the support from development partners.

Integrated people-centered health service delivery requires emergency, critical and operative care services that are linked to communities through primary healthcare and by communication, transportation, referral, and counter-referral mechanisms. The emergency care system (ECS) is key in this integrated approach. Emergency care systems address a wide range of common medical, surgical, and obstetric conditions as well are essential to preparing for extraordinary complex mass emergencies and preventing collapse of the health system in the face of a stressor, thereby preventing secondary mortality. This consultancy falls within the ongoing global and regional work to support the implementation and development of ECS. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO and Member States expressed commitment to scaling up emergency care through the World Health Assembly resolution WHA72.16. In response, WHO at the global and regional levels embarked on initiatives to support ECS development in countries in the region, including Timor Leste, to help policymakers coordinate system development activities and use existing processes and resources more effectively. Further work has been done to support implementation of WHO’s emergency care toolkit, including, among other things: the Integrated Interagency Triage Tool; Emergency Medical and Trauma Care Checklists; standardized clinical charts; and the Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course.

Under the primary supervision of Health Policy Advisor, WHO Timor-Leste and secondary supervision Lead: Emergency Care, Clinical Services and Systems, Integrated Health Services, HQ and the guidance of SEARO’s focal points, the incumbent is expected to support actions to ensure smooth implementation of the priority activities identified in the Timor Leste ECSA via the Global Emergency and Trauma Care Initiative.

Deliverables

Output 1: Conduct data collection to assess baseline performance of emergency care & Critical Care (using key indicators) as well as performance of emergency care & Critical Care after implementation of interventions that are part of GETI package (Expected in November 2022 and July 2023):

• Deliverable 1.1: Obtain samples of baseline emergency care data & Critical Care data from MoH to assess feasibility of utilization for pre-intervention analysis
• Deliverable 1.2: Identify and train data collectors in use of the data entry platform for data collection
• Deliverable 1.3: Train data collectors for pre-intervention and post-intervention emergency care data
• Deliverable 1.4: Schedule data collectors and provide technical support, as needed
• Deliverable 1.5: Monitor and provide iterative feedback to data collectors on their performance

Output 2: Training in interventions as part of GETI package including: Basic Emergency Care Course (BEC), WHO Emergency Care Checklists (Medical and Trauma), Interagency Integrated Triage Tool (IITT), and Resuscitation Area Designation (RAD). Further training in basic critical care to the manpower from Regional and Referral hospitals by designing appropriate knowledge and skills-based curriculum (Expected in June 2023):

• Deliverable 2.1: Identify and train toolkit coordinators for designated sites
• Deliverable 2.2: Organize training sessions at all partner sites
• Deliverable 2.3: Coordinate selection of trainees and distribution of training materials
• Deliverable 2.4: Conduct BEC & Basic critical Care training at designated hospitals
• Deliverable 2.5 Adapt international protocols and guidelines to local context and facilitate implementation in local emergency units
• Deliverable 2.6 Facilitate implementation of a mentorship program for Emergency Unit Management, Critical Care unit management and Quality Improvement

Output 3: Conduct reporting on all activities to WHO Timor Leste Office, WHO SEARO and WHO HQ (Expected in August 2023):

• Deliverable 3.1: Maintain up-to-date status report of all ECS & Critical Care up gradation activities in Timor-Leste
• Deliverable 3.2: Assist WHO Country Office, WHO SEARO and WHO HQ in interim and annual reporting

Qualifications, experience, skills and languages

Educational Qualifications:

Essential: Medical degree, with specialization in emergency care or critical care or Anesthesiology - Intensive care

Desirable: Training in Emergency Care or Critical Care

Experience:

Essential: 2 - 5 years of experience in emergency or critical care in low resource settings

Desirable: Experience in data analysis and project coordination

Skills / knowledge:

• Project management skills including excellent communication (written and verbal)
• Scheduling and management of project staff
• Task tracking and evaluation of team members using data-driven approaches

Language required:

Essential: Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English

Desirable: Basic knowledge of Tetum / Bahasa

Location:

On site: Timor Leste WHO country office

Travel

If travel is involved, full medical clearance is required. The selected Consultant will be expected to provide a medical certificate of fitness for work

Local travel within the country, where needed, will be arranged by WCO Timor-Leste

Remuneration and budget (travel costs are excluded):

• Band level A - USD 3,955 – 6,980 per month
• Living expenses (A living expense is payable to on-site consultants who are internationally recruited): Approximately USD 3,930 per month as per the UN rate for the location (USD 131 per day)
• Expected duration of contract: 11 months.

Additional contracts can be offered based on funding availability and satisfactory performance

Additional Information

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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• Consultants shall perform the work as independent contractors in a personal capacity, and not as a representative of any entity or authority. The execution of the work under a consultant contract does not create an employer/employee relationship between WHO and the Consultant.
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