MSDS process for healthcare establishments

LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission has initiated the process for developing the Minimum Service Delivery Standards for category-III healthcare establishments providing services related to midwifery, mother-child healthcare and family welfare centres.

A consultative meeting of the technical working group on the development of the MSDS for these centres was held on Thursday to provide expert recommendations from the relevant stakeholders and experts, which will form the framework for the proposed MSDS, according to a press release issued here.

Experts from the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department, Population Welfare Department, Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health and Nutrition Programme (IRMNC&NP), Director General Nursing, Controller Nursing Examination Board, Public Health Nursing School, Lady Willingdon Hospital and Lady Aitchison Hospital, Lahore participated.

Director Clinical Governance and Organisational Standards PHC Dr Mushtaq Ahmed Salarya briefed the group about the PHC working on the MSDS for the centres and other areas. Director Complaints PHC Prof Dr Riaz Tasneem highlighted issues commonly encountered during complaints management at the Commission. Former Dean Institute of Public Health Prof Dr Maqsood Ahmad facilitated the group work and presented an initial framework for seeking expert opinion in each functional area of the midwifery practices and MCH services.

Chief Operating Office PHC Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, in his closing address, said the Commission was the first statutory body to develop the MSDS for different types of healthcare establishments, which were being implemented across the province in all the HCEs. He mentioned that the PHC was guiding other provinces for regulating the healthcare services. “The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have replicated the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act, and the federal government has done so recently,” he said, while adding that quality assurance should be made part of the medical education.