The Urban Primary Health Centre at Gandhipuram in Tiruchi.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Gandhipuram Urban Public Health Centre (UPHC) in Tiruchi has received the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification from the Ministry of Home and Family Welfare (MoHFW) for adhering to high quality standards, making it the second UPHC to be awarded the certification in the city.
The certification for the UPHC came on September 4, 2024. The centre has received an overall score of 90.22% out of 100 .
The annual certification of NQAS by MoHFW is awarded by grading the quality of 11 services such as out-patient services, maternal, new-born, child, and adolescent health services among others usually administered at UPHCs. These are measured using eight standards such as service provision, patient rights, infection control, and quality management among others using the relevant documents pertaining to those eight standards.
Most of patients avail pregnancy and ante-natal care and the centre handles approximately 260 patients a day, said staff at the UPHC. Nurses and doctors also visit schools to vaccinate children as there are five primary schools, three middle schools, and five higher secondary schools within the purview of the UPHC. The nurses also conduct screening of non-communicable diseases such as leprosy among others at the centre.
As part of the services offered at the UPHC, staff dedicate each day of the week to offering specific services such as maternal care after pregnancy, antenatal care, screening of non-communicable diseases, monitoring adolescent healthcare, and administering vaccines to children and adults.
Attending the Gandhipuram UPHC are four nurses and a doctor serving approximately 42,649 residents in addition to treating patients from wards 11 and 22, though they are not averse to treating other patients, said a nurse at the UPHC.
Posters on the walls provide information on how to identify non-communicable diseases, first aid, how to identify mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The quantity of medicines available is also displayed on a notice board.
The UPHCs at Ramalinga Nagar and Woraiyur are next in line to apply for NQAS certification, said a senior official from the Corporation.
Published – September 05, 2024 07:21 pm IST