Approximately 80% of public health facilities in India do not satisfy the government's basic essential standards for infrastructure, staffing, equipment, and other criteria.

This alarming information surfaced from a government self-evaluation process where public health facilities from states and UTs covered by the National Health Mission (NHM) were asked to provide information about their facilities, including the number of physicians, nurses, and basic medical supplies they have.

NHM, the government's flagship program, covers almost two lakh public healthcare facilities, including district and sub-district hospitals, community health centers, primary health centers, and Ayushman Arogya Mandir (formerly sub-health centers). According to government data provided on the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) dashboard, 40,451 of them completed the Open Data Kit, a digital tool created by the health ministry, which asked for important information about their specific institutions.

Only 8,089, or around 20% of the facilities, received the 80% or higher score required to be considered IPHS compliant when the scoring was completed using the facts that were provided. To put it simply, these facilities have the necessary tools, supplies, medications, equipment, and diagnostics on hand to deliver the necessary services when required.

Out of all the facilities that took part in the self-assessment exercise, 17,190 (42%) scored lower than 50%, and the remaining 15,172 facilities scored between 50 and 80%. The IPHS dashboard has made all of these facts available to the general public. According to a senior health ministry official, the purpose of the self-assessment and its real-time monitoring is to guarantee that the medical facilities uphold the necessary standards of personnel, equipment, and infrastructure, which will improve patient outcomes and promote a more equitable and healthy society.

According to a Center official, the goal is for 70,000 healthcare facilities to become IPHS compliant in the first 100 days following the creation of the new government. "The aim of this self-assessment exercise is to identify the gaps and push the states/UTs to fill them with full support from the Centre so that the quality of services provided to the public improves," said a senior official from the health ministry. The first phase, she continued, is self-assessment. The Center also intends to conduct surprise inspections in order to confirm the information provided by healthcare facilities in comparison to the IPHS benchmarks.

The National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) is a second, higher level of evaluation that rates health facilities based on best practices, such as having access to necessary medications, equipment, waste management, infection control procedures, support services, and patient rights. The IPHS evaluates health facilities for basic services. The official stated that although physical NQAS assessments will still be conducted for district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, community health centers, and primary health centers, a new virtual assessment option has been made available for the Ayushman Arogya Mandir, which is the largest number of public health facilities under NHM.

Within a public health facility covered by the NHM, the Center pays 60% of the costs, with the state covering the remaining portion.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/NJ)