Hospitals KASHing in on government scheme

KOCHI: A training programme for health personnel was organised on Tuesday to mark the launch of the Kerala Accreditation Standards for Hospitals (KASH) programme in the  district. The programme, held at the Pandappilly Community Health Centre, is a government initiative to ensure quality service in government hospitals in the state.Under the programme, select hospitals will be given a facelift to meet the standards laid down under KASH.From each hospital, medical personnel will be trained to undertake the programme. The implementation of the programme in each hospital will be led by the hospital superintendent or medical officer. A gap analysis will be done in each of the hospitals to identify the areas where upgradation has to be done, which will be followed by providing the infrastructure. This will be followed by an inspection by an expert committee to give the approval. The programme is undertaken by the National Rural Health Mission(NRHM).“The state government has set down a list of 12 guidelines for the project, taking into consideration the special features of the state. The other accreditation processes like the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health Care Providers(NABH) are time consuming, expensive and complicated. It is in this situation, that KASH was introduced,” said Nagini Paulose, Quality Assurance Officer, Ernakulam.Five hospitals from the district, Muvattupuzha General Hospital, Angamaly Taluk Hospital, Pandappilly Community Health Centre, Malayattoor Primary Health Centre and Valakom Primary Health Centre, have been selected for the programme. A fund of Rs 10 lakh has been allotted to the district for the primary training and documentation of the programme.