BHUBANESWAR:THE State Government on Thursdched an initiative for improving maternal care in labour rooms. The initiative - LaQshya (Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative) is expected to improve the quality of care being provided to expectant mothers. Health and Family Welfare Secretary Dr Pramod Kumar Meherda said the initiative will be implemented in all Government Medical College and Hospitals, District Headquarters Hospitals along with high delivery load Sub-Divisional Hospitals (SDHs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs). “Quality of care in labour rooms, particularly on the day of childbirth is central to maternal and neonatal survival. Our priority will be to provide quality care to pregnant women in the labour room and maternity operation theatres. It will help prevent the undesirable adverse outcomes associated with childbirth,” Dr Meherda said.
Apart from quality care, standardisation of labour rooms, OTs, obstetric high dependency units and ICUs can be improved as per national guidelines and standards. Structured quality improvement efforts under the new initiative will also improve adherence to critical practices around childbirth and ensure client satisfactions, including respectful maternity care. The objective of the initiative is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in labour room and maternity OT.
“We have also planned to conduct quality certification of labour rooms and incentivise facilities for achieving the targets outlined,” he added. Among others, Director of NHM Shalini Pandit, Director (Health Services) Dr BK Brahma and other senior health officials were present.