CHENNAI: The State government will conduct a certified infection prevention and control nurse (IPCN) training programme for nursing staff in its hospitals if such a proposal is placed before it by the Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI), according to Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan. He made this remark while speaking at a workshop on “Rising Medical Liabilities and Possible Solutions” here on Saturday.
Pointing out that no hospital in India maintained a registry on how much infection occurs within its premises and how many lives are lost because of it, Dr Girdhar J Gyani, Director General of AHPI, said IPCN would train nurses to monitor all kinds of infections and help save many lives that may otherwise be lost. “According to a 2013 study, 52 lakh medical errors happen in India yearly, yet most of the hospitals or State governments have not taken any steps to monitor these errors and correct them,” Dr Girdhar said.
Citing an example, he said, many State governments have not implemented the Clinical Establishment Act of 2010, which prescribes regulations for the functioning of clinics or hospitals. Healthcare should be regulated. Every government should conduct an internal audit on infection cases and try to find solutions. One nurse station in the hospital should have at least two IPCN certified nurses. A quality hospital should have less than three per cent of infection,
Dr V S Dorairaj, president of Tamil Nadu Medical Council, also spoke on the occasion.
The one-day workshop was organised by the AHPI, ACME Consulting and National Law School of India University, Bangalore.