“Kayakalp has been instrumental in inculcating a sense of ‘ownership’ amongst all stake holders. This sense of ‘ownership’ has translated into “commitment for Swachhta.’’ This was stated by J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfareduring the national felicitation eremony of Kayakalp awardees (2017-18) for their work in maintaining high standards of sanitation and hygiene in public health facilities, here today.SmtAnupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, SmtPreeti Sudan, Secretary (Health), ShriParameswaranIyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Dr. Promila Gupta, DGHS, were also present at the event.ShriNadda congratulated the awardees and said that cleanliness is no more a one-time activity but is integrated in our day-to-day practices and has become a habit. Kayakalp has played a pivotal role in gaining trust and confidence of community in public health facilities.He further added that the zest and zeal shown by the hospitals and their collective efforts in improving cleanliness, hygiene and infection control practices should continue unabated.Referring to the ICT based application ‘MeraAspataal (My Hospital)’ that captures patients’ feedback about their experience in the health facilities on the services that they received or sought to receive, ShriNadda said that about 1000 government hospitals are now connected and patients can now give their feedback on various aspects of healthcare services including cleanliness, housekeeping, behavior of the hospital staff, etc. “We are now making a paradigm shift by seeking their views on quality of experience in a public healthcare facility. This will help us improving the experience of people at a health facility and will also increase the accountability of the public health systems,” ShriNadda elaborated.
The Union Health Minister further stated that health is at the centre-stage with the launch of Ayushman Bharat. He said that National Health Protection Mission (NHPM) will protect around 50 crore people (from about 10 crore families) and at the same time Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) will deliver comprehensive primary health care. “The H&WC would provide preventive, promotive, and curative care for non-communicable diseases, dental, mental, geriatric care, palliative care, etc. He further stated that the Government has initiated universal screening of common NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and common cancers, which will eventually help in reducing the disease burden.Speaking at the function, SmtAnupriya Patel stated that maintenance of the hygiene and cleanliness of health facilities is not only related to aesthetics and patient satisfaction, but it also reduces the incidence of Hospital Acquired Infections. She further stated that the Health Ministry is collaborating with other Ministries to ensure that the goals of sanitation and cleanliness are achieved.The Health Ministers gave away the awards to the winners under various categories. Under the Central Government Hospitals Acategory, the first prize of Rs2.5 Crore was given to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER),Chandigarh was judged as the runner-upin this category with Rs. 1.5 crore prize money.Commendation Award of Rs. 50 Lakh was given to JIPMER, Puducherry along with Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi. MGIMS, Wardha received the Certificate of Appreciation.
In the group B category, the winner was NEIGRIHMS, Shillong withRs1.50 Crore and the Runner-Up was AIIMS, Bhubaneswar with Rs 1.00 Crore. Commendation Award ofRs 50 Lakh was given to NIMHANS, Bengaluru, AIIMS, Rishikesh, AIIMS, Raipur, NITRD, New Delhi and AIIMS, Bhopal . AIIMS, Jodhpur received the Certificate of Appreciation. Shri J P Nadda also felicitated the District Hospitals, PHCs and CHCs for winning the awards in their respective states and union territory.At the function, Shri J P Nadda and Ms. Anupriya Patel released the KayakalpCoffe Table book along with the Patient Safety Framework and Kayakalp Implementation Guidebook.ShriParmeshwaranIyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said that there is a sanitation revolution in India. Sanitation and cleanliness has become a ‘Jan Andolan’, closely connected with Health. SmtPreeti Sudan, Secretary (Health) added that sanitation, cleanliness and waste management in health facilities are pre-requisites to all healthcare delivery protocols.This Kayakalpevent also signifies the culmination of the SwachhataPakhwada for year 2018 observed by the Ministry from 1st April to 15th April, 2018. Kayakalp - Award to Public Health Facilities” was instituted as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on 15th May 2015 as a National Initiative to give Awards to those public health facilities that demonstrate high levels of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control focuses on promoting cleanliness in public spaces. The initiative was started with District Hospitals and 10 Central Government Institutes in 2015. In 2016, CHC, SDH, PHC, and 6 new AIIMS were added. Last year, urban health facilities along with 21 Central Government Institutes also joined the mission of Swachhta.Also present at the function were ShriSanjeeva Kumar, AS (Health), ShriManojJhalani, AS&MD and representatives from the states and union territories.