On 06.05.2021, the first organizational online meeting took place between the representatives of Lviv City Council, PPP Agency and team of consultants provided with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF).
They will provide expertise as specialized technical and legal consultants, executing further analysis of predefined priority projects that can be potentially chosen as pilot PPP projects in the healthcare sector in Ukraine, including the Lviv Emergency Hospital (LEH).
Consultants will conduct research into specific potential projects and PPP implementation models in the healthcare sector, analysing their technical, commercial and financial parameters, determining the amount, magnitude and financial impact of future PPPs. They will verify projects’ suitability to be implemented as PPPs, according to the legislation of Ukraine.
The goal of the Lviv City Council is to improve the Lviv Emergency Hospital (LEH), by attracting investments and expertise of the private sector to the modernization of hospital infrastructure and the improvement of healthcare services. The improvement of the quality of medical services and the modernization of the Lviv Emergency Hospital is a project that was included in the list of investment projects of high priority for the state to be implemented by the year 2023. The list was approved by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of 16.12.2020 №1581-r. It was formed to fulfill paragraph 56 of the Action Plan on the implementation of the State Economic Stimulus Program for 2020-2022, intended to counteract the negative effects caused by restrictive measures taken to prevent the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
In 2020 – early 2021, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with the support of its senior healthcare expert and PPP specialists, in collaboration with the PPP Agency, have conducted a preliminary analysis of healthcare services in Lviv. The goal was to identify projects that can be potentially implemented under the PPP model. The preliminary analysis involved the evaluation of current capacity for service delivery and the demand in Lviv and surrounding territories, as well as interviews with representatives of the Lviv City Council, heads of hospitals, medical doctors and the National Healthcare Service of Ukraine (NHSU).
Based on the results of the analysis, three potential PPP projects of high priority were identified:
- Hospital consolidation PPP: construction of a new multi-profile hospital at the site of the Lviv Emergency Hospital. The model envisions attracting a private investor to finance, design, build, equip and maintain a new multidisciplinary hospital via the amalgamation of existing outdated public hospitals (including the consolidation of the staff and other resources).
- Laboratory PPP: the project envisions attracting a private investor to build, equip and operate a network of laboratories using the hub-and-spoke model and delivering a wide range of quality laboratory services in the Lviv region, including up-to-date services in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, pathology, histopathology, hematology, cytology, immunology and microbiology.
- Imaging PPP: it is expected that the private operator will be attracted to finance, equip, maintain and operate a network of imaging centers, delivering imaging diagnostics services to patients and hospitals, part of which could be interpreted through telemedicine-based IT solutions.
The first meeting with consultants (advisors) has allowed to coordinate efforts of main stakeholders regarding the assessment of feasibility and preparation for the implementation of the pilot PPP project in the healthcare sector in Lviv.