Change Agents to Assist with Implementation of New Systems in Hospitals and Health Centres

Sixty health workers have been trained as change agents to assist with the implementation of new systems across targeted hospitals and health centres, under the Ministry of Health and Wellness Health System Strengthening Programme (HSSP).

The programme is aimed at strengthening Jamaica’s health system for the prevention and care management of non-communicable diseases through targeted interventions at 13 facilities in central Jamaica and the implementation of a standardised Chronic Care Model for the country.

Giving the programme overview at the recently held final HSSP stakeholder engagement session, at the AC Marriott Hotel in Kingston, HSSP Programme Manager, Orett Clarke, underscored the importance of effective change management to the programme.

“Change management is critical to the success of HSSP. This ensures that all key players are well prepared for the transitions and can adapt smoothly to new systems and processes,” he noted.

“This helps us to minimise disruption, proactively address challenges and ensure everyone is on the same page, ultimately leading to better outcomes for our health sector,” Mr. Clarke added.

The training was conducted in conjunction with change management consultant, CH Academy, which has been providing consultancy services to the project over the past two years.

Meanwhile, Project Manager, CH Academy, Rafael Silva, had high praises for the participants and commended them for their engagement.

“We at CH are proud to have played a key role in this transformative process. The commitment and enthusiasm shown by all stakeholders has been truly inspiring, and we look forward to the continued success of the HSSP,” Mr. Silva said.

Leaders from the three secondary healthcare facilities that were selected for upgrades under the programme – Spanish Town, May Pen and St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospitals – shared positive experiences of working with the CH Academy team.

The trained change agents have been instrumental in the continued rollout of the new Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, which is now in place in Clarendon and St. Catherine, and is set to be activated in St Ann by the end of this year.

As the consultancy with CH culminates at the end of August, the HSSP has welcomed Change Management Specialist, Cordell Williams Graham, to its Project Execution Unit (PEU), to oversee the continued implementation of change management strategies.

In outlining the way forward, Mrs. Williams Graham emphasised that the transformation of healthcare services would require an “all hands on deck” approach.

“Under the HSSP, we are seeing many great changes in our facilities in terms of infrastructure and technology. What we need now is people change. People now have to adjust their ways of working, mindsets and beliefs, attitudes and behaviours,” the Change Management Specialist added.

The project is being administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through an initial loan facility of US$50 million, with additional funding of US$87.4 million from the Government of Jamaica and an investment grant from the European Union (EU), valued at US$10 million.