Plea in SC seeks new accreditation policy to ensure best patient to doctor, nurse ratio in NABH hospitals

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a fresh national accreditation policy that ensures the optimum doctor to patient and nurse to patient ratio is adhered to in all the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) hospitals and those who apply for accreditation.

The plea filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association, a non-governmental registered body working for the welfare of the nurses across India, also prayed to direct the Quality Council of India and the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) to place on record the documents it peruses while granting accreditation.

The plea also sought direction for forming a committee to monitor the quality of patient care, patient safety and satisfaction.

The petitioner said that the plea has been filed in light of the RTI responses and also in the context of the overburden put on medical staff during the ongoing pandemic. In the RTI response, Quality Council of India admits that it has no specified norms related to the patient-nurses ratio and it has further stated that it has not conducted any survey or study to monitor the quality of patient care, patient safety and patient satisfaction.

"Most important, this petition is trying to emphasize that adherence of patient-nurse and the patient-doctor ratio is extremely significant from the point of view of patient safety," it stated.

Quality Council of India and NABH themselves claim to be the apex body that sets the basic standards for healthcare quality and patient safety has never conducted a survey or study to see if hospitals are ensuring patient safety.

"There is a dire need of a fresh policy of accreditation as respondent number one and two are relying on the documents submitted by hospitals," it added.There is also a need for NABH to conduct surprise visits along with pre-informed inspections in hospitals to monitor if the safety standards are being complied by the said hospitals, said the plea.

( With inputs from ANI )