In order to give quality services to the patients and to strengthen the hospitals, a grading system would be introduced next month by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). This would come as part of the quality assurance scheme wherein the hospitals and dispensaries run by the Pune Municipal Corporation will be graded during the second phase of the Integrated Population Development Project (IPDP) funded by United Nations Population Fund.

The three-year first phase of the IPDP, from the year 2000-2003, had been sanctioned Rs. 3 crore by United Nations Population Fund. The funds were later pumped into upgrading PMC hospitals and some NGOs too were provided with the part of the sanctioned money. “In the first phase equipment has been provided to hospitals, apart from training the staff in women and community empowerment and aspects of reproductive and adolescent health,” said Dr. Dilip Pardeshi, nodal officer.

The second phase of the IPDP is slated to commence soon with the investment of Rs. 4.78 crore. Elaborating the main activity to be carried out in the second phase Dr. “Now in the second phase of the project the PMC hospitals and dispensaries located in the urban slum areas will be graded as per their performance in last three years,” Pardeshi said, adding that a panel of doctors would be formed to monitor and evaluate the hospitals and dispensaries. The doctors would be from the PMC hospitals and some from private hospitals, said Pardeshi, but did not specify the numbers of doctors saying, “We are still working on the panel of doctors to be formed for the purpose.”

However, 16 hospitals and 30 dispensaries run by the PMC will be monitored and evaluated based on the impact of the services rendered by these hospitals and dispensaries to the urban slum population. The project will assess various factors like has the age at marriage increased, has the spacing between two children gone up and checking the awareness levels of the importance of reproductive health in the population.

“Till now, four dispensaries and two hospitals has been upgraded with two video laproscopy machines being installed, one each at Kamala Nehru Hospital and Sonawane hospital,” said Pardeshi.