Successes and failed experiences, key lessons to improve the quality of health services in Belize

Jaime Zamora. Quality Officer of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative

In 2013, only 30 percent of newborn children in Belize received quality medical care. Four years later, in 2017, this figure rose to 89 percent. Improvement of quality in health services has benefitted not only the newborns, but it has had a positive impact on women. For example, the use of oxytocin after delivery increased by thirty percentage points, being applied in up to 90 percent of deliveries. Likewise, 75 percent of women received the care they needed in the first seven days after delivery, a figure that increased by over thirty percentage points since 2013.

How has Belize been able to improve the quality of health services so quickly and in such a significant manner? Many factors have contributed to this improvement, however, there is one that may be considered as the cornerstone: learn from successes and from negative experiences and systemize these lessons. Every person and institution may fail, this is part of human nature, however, not everyone understands that failed projects and experiences represent an excellent opportunity to improve the quality of public services, including health.

The Ministry of Health of Belize, with the support of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI), has begun a strategy ha to systemize learning and lessons learned of professionals working in its health system. A collaborative meeting between professionals from different hospitals throughout the country took place late February, 2019, where they shared their common experiences and lessons learned with the purpose of improving the systems and processes that lead to an increase in quality of care.

Workers from all health regions of the country were present at the meeting, including those who participate in the SMI project (West Region and South Region) and those regions where SMI is not present (Central Region). The hospitals that participated in this meeting were: Corozal Community Hospital, Northern Regional Hospital, Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital, Western Regional Hospital, San Ignacio Community Hospital, Southern Regional Hospital and Punta Gorda Hospital.