Stress on quality assessment of hospitals in Madurai

In a bid to promote quality healthcare, Tamil Nadu Health System Project (TNHSP) organised a workshop for private and government hospital doctors from southern districts to create awareness of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) at Government Rajaji Hospital here on Thursday.

“There are hundreds of hospitals in Madurai district and each one of them should have the responsibility to provide quality care to patients. Quality health systems ensure patient safety and public satisfaction. We want more hospitals to come forward and get accredited,” said S. Natarajan, Madurai District Coordinator, (TNHSP).

NABH accreditation is a public recognition of the achievements of a healthcare organisation. It is awarded following an independent external peer assessment of that organisation’s level of performance in patient safety and related standards.

According to TNHSP officials, about 7.6 lakh patients in the State have benefitted from the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS). As per government data, 37,203 patients from Madurai district had utilised the scheme.

S. Selva Vinayagam, Joint Director, TNHSP, said 12 hospitals in Tamil Nadu had been recognised by the NABH so far. Among them were two private hospitals in Madurai.

The NABH accreditation comprised two standards — one for hospitals with less than 50 beds and the other for ones with over 50 beds. Totally the NABH had 102 standards and 636 objective elements. “There are about 45 standards and 173 objective elements for 50-bedded hospitals and 41 standards and 149 objective elements for those with less than 50 beds,” said Dr. Natarajan, district coordinator of the project. “The NABH, which was started seven years ago, provides quality assessment for hospitals in the country. Its objectives include methodology to clean equipment, sumps and floors, quantity of disinfectant to be used, maintenance of water tank, drainage system and so on. A team of officials from NABH, New Delhi, will inspect the hospital and only if all the criteria were met, it will get accredited,” he said.

In Madurai, 25 government and private hospitals had been empanelled with the CMCHIS and the Government Hospital at Usilampatti had applied for accreditation, he added.

Doctors from around 100 hospitals from 11 districts took part in the workshop.