Kamla Nehru Hospital, Pune. (Source: www.pmc.gov.in)Two Pune civic hospitals have become eligible for final selection to the Centre’s Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya) programme that aims to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality in the city by improving quality of care during delivery and in the post-partum period.
Kamla Nehru Hospital and Chandumama Sonawane maternity home are the hospitals that have become eligible.
Under the programme, the labour room and maternity operation theatre is assessed through National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) and each facility achieving a 70 per cent score will be certified as a LaQshya-certified facility. Facilities with a score of more than 90 per cent will get a platinum badge, a gold badge for scoring more than 80 per cent and a silver badge for a score of more than 70 per cent. Facilities with NQAS certification, defined quality indicators and 80% satisfied beneficiaries will be provided incentives.
In the city, last year, 59,774 deliveries took place, with 22,667 deliveries in public hospitals and 37,107 deliveries in private hospitals. A total of 6,610 deliveries took place in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hospitals. There were 42 maternal mortalities and 26 newborn mortalities registered in the city last year, with one maternal death in PMC hospitals.
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The PMC identified Kamla Nehru Hospital and Chandumama Sonawane maternity home for the project. There were 4,327 deliveries at Kamla Nehru hospital and 512 deliveries at Sonawane hospital last year.
“After internal assessment of the labour room and maternity operation theatre facility in both the civic hospitals, the PMC purchased various necessary equipment and mannequins from the funds provided by the state government and also provided training to the staff. The PMC frequently carried out internal assessment of the facilities in two hospitals and prepared an action plan for overcoming shortcomings,” said Vaishali Jadhav, assistant medical officer of PMC.
The strengthening of basic infrastructure and skill development of health and allied staff through training has been completed. A state government team carried out an assessment of the two shortlisted health facilities recently, she added. While the labour room facility and maternity operation facility at Chandumama Sonawane maternity home got a score of 88 per cent and 84 per cent respectively, the facilities at Kamla Nehru hospital got a score of 88 per cent and 89 per cent respectively.
The LaQshya programme will ensure improved quality of care during delivery and immediate postpartum period in the two civic hospitals as well as enhance satisfaction of beneficiaries and provide a positive birthing experience and respectful maternity care to all pregnant women attending public health facilities.
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