In an attempt to improve health services in rural areas, community and primary healthcare centres in Gujarat will seek accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Hospital.
Poor rural health services have created huge problems for rural citizens. To improve their functioning, community health centres (CHCs) and primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Gujarat have been lined up for accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH). This is a first for the country.
CHCs and PHCs often lack basic infrastructure and adequate staff. Accreditation, it is hoped, will do away with the disparities.
Of the 273 CHCs and 1,073 PHCs in Gujarat, the health department has chosen 48 CHCs and 158 PHCs for the first phase of accreditation. “The selection of centres has been on the basis of workload. One CHC and three PHCs in every district will undergo the process,” says Dr J L Meena, state quality assurance officer.
The budget for the first phase is Rs 25 lakh for CHCs and Rs 10 lakh for PHCs. The Quality Council of India together with district health officials will provide technical support in the accreditation process. The first phase of accreditation will be completed within a year.
The standard of accreditation for these centres, however, will be lower than for government and private hospitals. “It is an attempt to better the condition of public health in rural areas,” says Meena.
The training of staff has already begun. The health department is in the process of carrying out a baseline study of all PHCs and CHCs, which, Meena admits, are not up to the mark. The study will offer a clear picture of the extent of problems at health centres in rural areas, Meena concludes.
well frndz, this is a very good step taken by GUJARAT GOV. to improve the quality of Primary Healthcare Services. Other states should take a lesson from this, and should implement the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment