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Health Department Rolls Out New Referral Guidelines to Reduce Hospital Overcrowding
15 Nov
Summary
- New referral and disease management protocol categorizes hospitals into A, B, C1, C2, and D levels
- Aims to ensure patients receive care at the appropriate level, reducing overcrowding at top hospitals
- Detailed guidelines for 5 major specialties to help doctors refer patients to the right facilities
In a major initiative, the Health department has recently unveiled a new referral and disease management protocol for hospitals under its purview. The guidelines, developed over the past three years, aim to address the issue of overcrowding at top medical colleges by ensuring patients receive care at the appropriate level of healthcare institutions.
The new protocol categorizes hospitals into five levels - A, B, C1, C2, and D - based on their infrastructure, human resources, services, and the conditions they can effectively manage. This is a significant change from the previous system, which simply classified hospitals as district, general, or medical college hospitals. The new categorization allows the department to identify secondary-level institutions that can provide high-quality, "Category A" care in specific areas, reducing the need for patients to be referred to medical colleges.
The first volume of the referral protocols covers five major specialties - General Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, and Obstetrics-Gynaecology. These areas account for the majority of emergencies, complications, and referrals. The guidelines provide a clear list of categorized institutions for each specialty, enabling referring physicians to easily identify the appropriate "Category A" hospitals.
In addition to the categorization, the protocols also include detailed disease management guidelines for doctors, outlining the clinical conditions that warrant referral to a higher level of care. This comprehensive approach is expected to improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
To ensure the effective implementation of these guidelines, the department has asked all government hospitals to notify their categorization based on the available services, infrastructure, and human resources. This will be evaluated by District Medical Officers. Additionally, 24/7 control rooms will be set up in all medical colleges, and a functional contact number will be made available in all in-patient facilities to facilitate communication and referrals between hospitals.
