The Hindu 11.03.2011
Efforts on to get ISO certification for all PHCs
Plan to cover at the rate of four centres a district every year
Encouraged by ISO certification for 48 primary health centres (PHCs),
the Department of Public Health and Family Welfare has begun efforts to
get the certification for the other 1,537 primary health centres in the
State.
Director of Public Health R.T. Porkai Pandian told
presspersons here on Thursday that the conditions and services at 48
centres had been improved in Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Villupuram,
Tiruvannamalai, Dindigul, Vellore, Madurai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri,
Salem, Virudhunagar and Tuticorin. This enabled the centres qualify for
the certification.
“We are sure that this is the first time in the country
that primary health centres of the government have got ISO
certification,” Dr. Pandian said.
“We will now cover the other PHCs at the rate of four
centres a district every year. The functioning of the centres has
improved vastly over the last four years. Therefore, it should be
possible for the others also to get the quality certification by
ensuring total sanitation and infection-free environs, in addition to
quality care for patients,” he said.
From about 80,000 a year four years ago, the outpatient
inflow to PHCs across the State rose to 2.75 lakh last year. This
pointed the improvement in the services. The government promoted
institutionalised delivery, asking expectant mothers in rural areas to
be delivered of children only in hospitals to prevent infant and
maternal mortality. There had been vast improvement on this front too.
Avian flu fear
The health official said there was no fear of Avian flu in the poultry belts in the State, especially Namakkal.
“The flu has been reported only in Tripura (located in
the north-east part of the country). We have, however, asked poultry
owners to take precautionary measures if they find that more than 10
birds have fallen sick.”
Dr. Pandian was here to oversee the arrangements for the
second Tamil Nadu Public Health Conference to be held here on Friday
(March 11). Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, V.K.
Subburaj, Principal Secretary and Mission Director of National Rural
Health Mission Girija Vaidyanathan and Project Director of Tamil Nadu
Health Systems Project S. Vijayakumar would participate.
“Normally, such conferences are organised by a hospital
or a medical college. But, the Directorate of Public Health and
Preventive Medicine and the Tamil Nadu Public Health Forum are
organising the meet for the second year to focus on ways to reduce
infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate and prevent the spread of
diseases such as HIV/AIDS, dengue and chikunugunya,” he said.