Labour rooms in healthcare facilities to be assessed, rewarded under 'LaQshya'

Implementation of labour room protocols for providing quality care to both mother and the newborn at healthcare facilities across the country, will be assessed through National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) under 'LaQshya' programme and awarded accordingly, the health ministry said today.

A healthcare facility achieving 70 per cent score on NQAS will be declared 'LaQshya' certified. Facilities scoring over 90, 80 and 70 per cent will get platinum, gold and silver badges respectively, an official statement said.

Facilities achieving NQAS certification and having 80 per cent satisfied beneficiaries will be given monetary incentive with medical college hospitals getting Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for district hospitals, it said.

The 'LaQshya' programme was launched across the country in December last year in order to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates.

Ensuring privacy for mothers-to-be, providing a comfortable position during delivery, no-tolerance policy towards verbal or physical abuse on women and no demand of gratuitous payment by the staff are some of the guidelines provided in the programme.

"India has come a long way in improving maternal survival as maternal mortality ratio (MMR) has reduced from 301 maternal deaths (per 1,00,000 live births) in 2001-03 to 167 in 2011-13, an impressive decline of 45 per cent in a decade. India is committed to ensuring safe motherhood to every pregnant woman in the country," the health ministry said in a statement.

The program aims at implementing 'fast-track' interventions for achieving tangible results within 18 months.

Under this initiative, a multi-pronged strategy, such as improving infrastructure up-gradation, ensuring availability of essential equipment, providing adequate human resources, capacity building of healthcare workers and improving quality processes in the labour room, has been adopted.

According to a Lancet study published in 2014, birth is the time of greatest risk of death and disability.

A health ministry official said there has been a substantial increase in the number of the institutional deliveries following implementation of National Health Mission.

The aim is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born deaths, still birth rates, reduce related morbidities such as obstetric fistula, puerperal sepsis, birth asphyxia and newborn sepsis, he said.