Patients to give feedback about services at govt hospitals

From now on, patients visiting government hospitals will be able to give their feedback on the quality of services at the facility including cleanliness.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today launched "Mera Aspataal" (My Hospital) initiative which aims at empowering the patients by seeking their views on quality of experience in a public healthcare facility.
"Patient satisfaction is the ultimate test for assessing quality of services, provided by a healthcare facility. To further build upon the gains so far, we are now making a paradigm shift and expanding the programmes from grassroots upwards to build the continuity of care," Nadda said while launching the new initiative.

The initiative was launched at the third National Summit on 'Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Facilities' at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
Nadda said that for any innovation one must think of scale, skill and speed as has been stressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based Patient Satisfaction System (PSS) which was launched for public and government empanelled private hospitals will have a a multi-channel approach to collect patients' feedback like web portal, mobile application, SMS and Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).

"I am sure that 'Mera Aspataal', together with the Kayakalp awards, as part of 'Swacchata Abhiyaan' will spur the states in a spirit of friendly competition to get highest ratings for all their facilities," Nadda said.

According to officials, the feedback collected from the patients will be recorded and factored in while star rating the hospitals.
Nadda said that his Ministry has launched the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matriva Abhiyan (PMSMA) to provide fixed day assured quality ANC services to pregnant women on the ninth day of every month across the country.
"These services will be provided by obstetricians and physicians. A key pillar of this programme is voluntary partnership of private doctors.
"National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer,
Diabetes, Cardio-vascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) is being implemented to supplement the efforts of the state governments in the country for improving healthcare including prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer," said the minister.

"The government has also approved a scheme for enhancing the tertiary care cancer facilities in the country under NPCDCS," he said.
"The treatment of cancer is either free or subsidised in government institutions. Financial assistance to poor patients is also provided under the Health Minister's Discretionary Grant (HMDG), Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi," he said.
Nadda said, "Such conference is relevant in the current context given the high cost of modern healthcare interventions and the enormous market and peer pressure to adopt them versus a basic necessity for survival."

"The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing a number of schemes, programmes and national initiatives to expand the reach and increase access to quality healthcare," he said.