The government will extend the Kerala Accreditation Standard for Hospitals (KASH) to all government hospitals in the State in phases so that quality care can be provided at affordable cost to all people, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.
In the first phase, KASH would be implemented in two primary health centres (PHCs), two community health centres (CHCs) and one taluk hospital each in every district, he added while distributing KASH-accreditation certificates to six hospitals in the district and one PHC in Idukki at a function held here on Monday.
The institutions which received KASH accreditation in the district include the CHCs at Manamboor and Vellarada, and the PHCs at Chemmaruthi, Mangalapuram, Vattiyoorkavu and Chengal. The PHC at Arakkulam in Idukki district also got the KASH accreditation.
Kerala is the first State in the country to introduce a State-level accreditation programme for hospitals. Kerala Accreditation Standards for Hospitals (KASH) is an accreditation, standards and quality improvement programme initiated by the government to ensure that all public sector hospitals deliver an optimum level of services. KASH standards were evolved from the NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) and Indian Public Health Standards guidelines so that each level of health care institution will maintain an essential standards charter within its scope and limitations. Patient care, patient safety, infection control, medication safety and equity in delivering health care are some of the main components of KASH.
