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.