VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has stood fourth in the country in the ratio of doctors in position at district hospitals as per the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). This was stated in the performance assessment report of district hospitals in India, titled ‘Best Practices in the Performance of District Hospitals’, released by NITI Aayog on Thursday.
Against 0.86 national average ratio of doctors in position across hospitals as per IPHS, AP has 1.39. Delhi topped the list with 2.50 ratio, followed by Haryana with 1.42 and Goa with 1.40. Out of 14 district hospitals assessed in AP, seven (50%) were found to be meeting the IPHS for positioned doctors. King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam has figured among the top performing district hospitals in the country with regard to the ratio of doctors as it has 4.71 times of the requisite staff.
However, in respect of the average ratio of nurses and paramedics in position across hospitals as per IPHS, the State was placed 11th. With reference to nurses, it has 0.77 against the national average ratio of 0.60, with Delhi topping the list with 1.41.
In the paramedics category, the State has 2.33 ratio against the national average of 1.54. KGH has also found a place among the top performing district hospitals in these two categories. It has 2.05 times of the requisite staff in respect of nurses and 10.71 times of the requisite staff with reference to paramedics. The KGH, a tertiary care facility in Visakhapatnam, utilises the patient footfall and bed strength in addition to the Medical Council of India norms as a tool to determine and fill the required number of posts in various specialities.
The State was placed third in availability of diagnostic testing services of 14. Only 21 district hospitals in the entire country have these facilities and three of them are in AP. The first two are Karnataka and Telangana with six and four hospitals respectively having all these diagnostic testing services.
In C-section deliveries, the average of district hospitals is 42.74%, which is higher than the national average of 20.80%. AP was placed sixth in the country with Tamil Nadu ranked first with 65.15%. The district hospital in Machilipatnam was among those with the highest C-section rate of 73.34%. Initially, the district hospital had limited space for inpatients.
18 functional beds for every 1L population in State: NITI
The district hospital had increased the bed strength by constructing a full-fledged MCH block with all modern facilities. The number of specialist doctors was also increased to provide quality medical services. Dakshatha training had made the facility’s service delivery more efficient.
According to the NITI Aayog report, AP has 18 functional beds in district hospitals for every one lakh population against 22 functional beds as per IPHS. Compared to the national average of 11, the number of support services in district hospitals of the State is 12 and AP was placed 12th among the States and Union Territories in the country. Dadar and Nagar Haveli topped the list with 14.
In respect of core health care services (14 specialities), five district hospitals in AP have all these facilities. The average number of available core services in district hospitals of the State is 13 against the national average of 10. The State is placed fifth in average bed occupancy rate. Against the national average of 57.17%, the State has a bed occupancy rate of 80.07%.
However, AP lagged behind the national average of 27 in the number of OPD patients per doctor a day in a district hospital with only 16. The State also performed below par in the number of blood units issued on replacement in a district hospital. It has 42 against the national average of 35. Lakshadweep topped the list with zero.
KGH AMONG TOP PERFORMING HOSPS
King George Hospital in Vizag has figured among the top performing district hospitals in the country with regard to the ratio of doctors as it has 4.71 times of the requisite staff. The KGH has more than the requisite staff in respect of nurses and paramedics