NABH accreditation likely must for teaching hospitals in State

Father Muller and MS Ramaiah colleges ready for inspection

The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) is likely to make it mandatory for teaching hospitals affiliated to it seek accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). 

The decision by the RGUHS comes in the wake of a recent training conducted by the NABH for teaching hospitals — 10 government and 20 private. While corporate hospitals are graded according to their infrastructure and services, teaching hospitals are not monitored for quality. “Teaching hospitals are the hub of activity.

The idea behind the training was to sensitise the faculty members about patient care and safety,” said T Rajeshwari, director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation at the RGUHS. “This is the first time any university in the country has taken such an initiative.” 

The training was conducted between January 2012 and October 2013. The faculty members were sensitised to infection control, fire-fighting units, proper documentation of cases, etc. A similar training would be conducted for Ayush hospitals, Rajeshwari added.
 At present, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore and MS Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore are ready for accreditation. 

The final assessment of the two colleges will be in May and June. Now, the Quality Council of India (QCI) will inspect them. 

The RGUHS Vice-Chancellor, Dr K S Sriprakash, told mediapersons here on Monday that during the inspection of colleges, the Local Inquiry Committees (LICs) will be directed to take note of the institutions which had already undergone the training. 

Besides, a regional centre for faculty training is in the offing in order to improve the quality of education. There are 1.2 lakh students and 16,000 staff members, according to officials who hoped the centre would help in improving the standards of medical education.

Research centre at BMCRI

A new advanced research centre has been planned on the campus of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) and Rs 12 crore allocated for the purpose, Dr Sriprakash said.

Another research centre has been proposed at Bheemanakuppe in Bangalore South taluk. “The university did not have anything of this sort earlier. We will focus on developing human resources.

With the new research centre, the RGUHS will move forward from being an affiliation and examination monitoring body to one that focuses on innovation and research,” said Dr D Raghunath, in-charge of the new research centre at BMCRI.

“It will help bring the university on a par with global institutions.” The research centres will cover all streams of medical education. In total, 187 projects had been proposed, RGUHS officials added.