Namakkal: A three-member World Bank (WB) team that reviewed the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) in Namakkal on Tuesday said implementation of the project in Namakkal Government Hospital was satisfactory. WB Health Advisor Sundararajan S. Gopalan who led the team told The Hindu that the recent National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health Care Providers (NABH) accreditation for the hospital was an index to its achievement in healthcare.
Mr. Gopalan said the team had come to Namakkal to review the optimum utilisation of funds provided by the Bank as part of the TNHSP and also to find out whether the funds had helped improve the welfare of people. Since the implementation of the project in 2005, Namakkal has seen reduction in maternal mortality rate and improvement of tribal health through outreach programmes, he said.
However, there was still scope for improvement to sustain the NABH accreditation. Mr. Sundararajan felt that sustenance of the three-year accreditation depended on the efforts of the state and Central governments. Steps were being taken to make the nearly 270 government hospitals in the state achieve the benchmark set by Namakkal, he added.
After the review visits a meeting would be held with health officials in Chennai. A report would be submitted based on the observations and interactions, he said. Mr. Gopalan was accompanied by WB Health Analysts Sangeetha Binto and Ajay, Deputy Director for TNHSP Dr. K. Gunasekaran and Additional Director for Medical Services Dr. Panjanathan.
Resident Medical Officer of Namakkal Government Hospital Dr. J. Mohan told the World Bank team that expectations of the people from the hospital had soared after it received the coveted accreditation. Vacancies in superspecialty posts in the hospital should be filled and manpower shortage should be set right. The hospital should have better facilities and equipment to serve the people well.