THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 17 February 2007 — Two leading hospitals in Kerala promoted by Non-Resident Indians based in the Gulf countries have received accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH).
Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) here and Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) in the northern city of Kozhikode are now among the five hospitals in India to receive the national recognition for quality and standards.
In New Delhi last week, KIMS chairman Dr. M.I. Sahadullah and MIMS chairman Dr. Azad Moopan received the citation from President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who observed that India’s pharmaceutical industry has done very well and pharmaceutical products here are the cheapest in the world.
NABH was formed by the Quality Council of India that oversees quality of services in various fields. The Board for Healthcare Providers was constituted in 2005 to see that the health care provision in the country ensures high standards.
Standards are set to improve health care facilities in hospitals. The emphasis is on high quality patient care and customer satisfaction.
The first edition of the standards specifies 503 areas of excellence and hospitals aspiring to be accredited have to comply with all.
“We are happy that our efforts have been recognized and we look forward to extending these facilities to the villages. We have evolved a scheme called Adoption of Laborers in Kerala,” Dr. Azad Moopan said.
The KIMS authorities were elated at the recognition. “This will help us keep the competitive edge. It was a great feeling to receive an award from the president of India. I’m humbled,” Dr. Sahadullah said adding he has submitted a proposal to the state government to take over public health centers here to improve quality.
He said KIMS, which already has accreditation with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI), has now become the only hospital in India to have both national and international accreditations. “With the completion of the accreditation process KIMS has developed and implemented a firm system of patient care based on infection control and safety.
“It also helped create a culture of evidence-based approach to health care and data driven decision-making,” he added.
Both the hospitals also promote medical travel in a big way and receive a large number of health tourists. They hope to overcome the apprehensions of medical tourists on issues of safe health care through accreditations.
Established in 2002, KIMS is a 450-bed multi specialty and tertiary care hospital in the state capital. Besides the existing center in Bahrain, it has announced that offshore facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE will start soon. The KIMS, which opened a facility in 2004 at Umm Al-Hassan in Bahrain, is also promoting medical tourism in Kerala.
Its hospital received the state government recognition for being the highest foreign exchange earner and for attracting the most number of patients from abroad.
Dr. Sahadullah, who spent 26 years with Saudi Aramco in Dammam, said the hospital here treated 17,000 international patients last year, mainly from Maldives, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Canada, the USA, the UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Zambia. The 300-bed MIMS in the northern city of Kozhikode, which would be adding 300 more beds in a couple of months, also performed well last year. It received 1,200 foreign patients, mainly from the Gulf, and hopes to attract more through its facility in Dubai.
“It will be our endeavor to see that we do not allow any let up in quality. On the other hand, we will strive to improve at every stage,” Dr. Moopan said.
Started three years back, the MIMS is recognized as one of the best tertiary care hospital in Malabar that also is a leader in patient care, medical research and teaching.
It is the only hospital to have the mobile ICU in Malabar for transporting critically ill patients.
