BENGALURU: Under the LaQshya scheme of National Health Mission (NHM), aimed at improving intra and postpartum maternity services in hospitals, 46 state hospitals of selected 125 have been certified so far by the government for ensuring compliance.State Deputy Director, maternal health, Dr Rajkumar N said the scheme has been running for three years, but took a backseat because of the pandemic, and the inspection resumed in December 2021. Hospitals conducting over 100 deliveries a month were selected.
He explained that hospitals are given a checklist of services like the requisite number of drugs, labour tables, C-section deliveries in the night etc. The checklist is to ensure that the hospitals have minimum gaps in facilities and infrastructure, after which the assessment is done. A surveillance assessment is conducted a year later to check if hospitals are continuing to provide necessary services as per the checklist.
So far, 46 hospitals have been certified for showcasing preparedness on the basis of checklist and ensuring compliance with NHM norms. A few more certifications are pending which may come in another month or two, while 125 hospitals are expected to get certified by March 2023.
Dr Shashikala, nodal officer, KC General Hospital, said the initiative was taken to improve the quality of labour rooms in all government hospitals, while the main objective is to reduce the maternal and neonatal mortality/morbidity. Early identification of problems in the labour room is important. KC General Hospital recently underwent an inspection for the national quality assurance standards as it qualified at the state level last year, she added.
The percentage of institutional deliveries has increased, according to the National Family Health Survey-5. But it has not translated into reduction in maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. One of the major factors being inadequacies in the quality of care provided in health facilities.