Hospital Acquired Infection-SAT Issue

HOSPITAL ACQUIRED INFECTIONWednesday, May 09, 2007 08:00 IST P A FrancisDeaths of over 40 infants at the Sree Avittam Thirunal Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala last week due to hospital acquired infection is a stern warning to the state government about the deteriorating state of affairs of its public hospitals. Perhaps the hygienic conditions may not be far different in most of the other public hospitals in rest of the country. But, a tragedy of this dimension is indeed serious and should not have happened in a span of one month on account of the failure of the hospital administration. The instant public protest over the deaths has initially shaken the state government to make some routine announcements and action plans. A five member expert team has been appointed to inquire into the deaths by the state government. And a sum of Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned to renovate the facilities so as to ensure proper hygiene standards. The health minister has admitted that the hospital building was old and needed major renovation in key departments. Nothing much should be expected out of these public relation announcements of the state government. It is pointless to adopt infection control measures only in SAT Hospital as announced by the state government. It should work on a permanent infection control plan for the entire hospital sector in the state and implement it with some amount of effectiveness to avert such tragedies in future. Healthcare sector in India, particularly functioning of hospitals and nursing homes, is virtually unregulated. No specific set of rules or regulations exist in the country to supervise or monitor the activities of these institutions. That is precisely the reason why avoidable tragedies take place in hospital premises like the one which has happened at SAT Hospital. It is a fact that operation theatres, ICUs and general wards in most of the public and private hospitals are in a deplorable state. Neither the central government nor state health authorities have cared to lay down any specific standards or rules for these life saving departments in hospitals. Some of the corporate and trust hospitals, however, may have their own ultra modern OTs, ICUs and wards but they are not many. Growing instances of hospital acquired infection deaths in the country is a result of this long drawn neglect by the hospital administrations. What is, therefore, required is enactment of a comprehensive legislation covering all aspects of the hospital administration in the country and making hospital managements accountable for their shortcomings. It is unfortunate that the Union health ministry has failed to address this complex issue for such a long time. As there are no rules for governing the healthcare establishments, the state governments also do not have any enforcement machinery. Whatever regulatory functions are being carried out by various departments of the state governments. This should not be allowed anymore.