Gandhinagar: In a bid to improve hygiene standards and reduce the risk of infections in public healthcare facilities, Gujarat govt on Wednesday launched the Namo Swachhata Abhiyan, a seven-day statewide campaign to clean, repair and upgrade govt health institutions ranging from civil hospitals to primary health centres.The intensive drive aims to ensure that patients and their relatives visiting hospitals are not exposed to infections due to poor sanitation, cluttered premises or inadequate maintenance. Officials said that after the week-long campaign concludes, cleanliness and upkeep of govt health facilities will be monitored on a daily basis to ensure sustained improvements.As part of the initiative, all scrap vehicles and junk lying in hospital compounds will be removed. Authorities have also been directed to dispose of broken furniture, discarded electronic equipment and other unusable materials that have accumulated over the years. Cleanliness work will be taken up at 12,000 locations connected to public health, the govt said.Launching the drive, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel said the campaign could succeed only through collective participation by govt officials, hospital staff and citizens. “We all know that prevention is better than cure. The need is for everybody to put this into practice,” he remarked.State health minister Praful Pansheriya said inspections had revealed that several hospital rooms were filled with scrapped items, rendering valuable space unusable. “There are hospitals where three or four rooms are filled with discarded materials. These rooms can be put to better use for patient care and hospital services,” he said. The campaign will also focus on repairing electrical appliances, switches, and other infrastructure, as well as upgrading and renovating toilets wherever required.Pansheriya said, “Our health centres should be such that there is no scope for people to catch an infection while seeking treatment,” he said.Additional chief secretary, health and family welfare department, Rajeev Topno, cited studies by international agencies to underline the importance of infection prevention measures in hospitals. He said studies by organisations such as World Health Organization and UNICEF indicate that patients in developing countries face around a 15% risk of acquiring infections during hospital stays, compared to about 7% in developed nations.He added that nearly 70% of hospital-acquired infections are linked to inadequate awareness and adherence to infection-prevention practices.The state govt also launched the Amrut Paan campaign on Wednesday to promote maternal and infant health. Under the initiative, health workers will receive specialised training to counsel pregnant women and mothers of newborns on practices that contribute to better health outcomes. Officials cited studies showing that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life can reduce the likelihood of diseases in newborns by 35% to 50%, highlighting the importance of awareness and counselling efforts under the programme.
