Punjab Launches Flagship ‘Care Companion Programme’ Scheme

Hospital Hallways/Wards Be Turned Into Classrooms To Educate Patients And Families About High-Impact Medical Skills : Brahm Mohindra

5 Dariya News

Chandigarh 27-Jul-2017

Brahm Mohindra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab today launch the its flagship health scheme “Care Companion Programme” (CCP) targeted at improving patient outcomes through better family engagement and education.Disclosing this official spokesperson of the Health Department said that during the launch of this ambitious scheme Mr. Brahm Mohindra said that Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Punjab, has entered into an MoU, with Noora Health India Trust, a healthcare non-profit organization dedicated to patient and caregiver education that works to improve patient outcomes through better family engagement and education through the award winning Care Companion Program (CCP). He said that This innovative program turns hospital hallways/wards into classrooms and taps into the most compassionate and willing resource available for care i.e. the patient's own family, by teaching the family high-impact medical skills to take care of their loved ones in the hospital and at home.

The Minister said that The Care Companion Program will be initially implemented in Maternal & Child Health wings of six district hospitals in Punjab (Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar, SBS Nagar, Sangrur, TarnTaran) and shall, be rolled out to additional public health facilities in the state in the near future. Noora Health will be the Technical Partners to implement the program in the State.Mr. Brahm Mohindra further said that staff nurses from all the six hospitals are trained on how to engage and teach patients and caregivers in the wards. Families will learn high-impact health skills for taking care of the new-born baby and post-partum mother, specifically, baby hygiene, thermal care, breastfeeding, and maternal nutrition. The aim is to reduce the number of baby deaths and complications like infections in the first 30 days’ post-discharge, and ensure adoption of long-term health pro motive behaviours.

He said that Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Punjab, is committed to improving the health status and welfare of Punjab’s citizens by increasing the awareness of its people and building capacity of its health workers towards decreasing the neonatal mortality, burden of re-admissions, post discharge complications and increasing hospital hygiene, productivity of nurses, and patient satisfaction in the Public Healthcare Institutes in Punjab.Prominent amongst those present at the occasion included Ms. Anjali Bhawara, Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, Mr. Rajiv Bhalla, Director Health Services, Punjab, Mrs. Edith Elott, Head of Noora Health India Trust and other senior officers of the Health Department.