Tamil Nadu receives the highest number of Kayakalp awards in the country

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Health department has received the highest number of Kayakalp Awards for healthcare facilities by the Union Government in the country. The State has received a total of 4,762 awards for the year 2023-24.

Kayakalp awards are given to the institutions on the parameters of cleanliness, hygiene, and sanitation in the healthcare facilities across the country. This is being done as an extension to Swachh Bharat Mission.

The public health institutions that excel at keeping the premises clean and ensure hygiene, proper sanitation and infection control at the hospital are awarded with Kayakalp award. Accordingly, public healthcare facilities who score 70 percent or above are given Rs 50 lakh cash award.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel recently announced in the Lok Sabha that Tamil Nadu has been awarded the highest Kayakalp awards.

The healthcare facilities in the State that received the Kayakalp awards include 35 district headquarters hospitals, 176 sub-district hospitals, 406 Community Health Centers, 1,251 Primary Health Centers, 320 Urban Primary Health Centers, 11 Urban Community Health Centers, 2,559 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and two eco-friendly facilities.

Besides Kayakalp awards, the public healthcare facilities in the State have also seen a surge in National Quality Assurance Scheme (NQAS) award and Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative (LaQshya) certification.

As many as 312 government health facilities has achieved national NQAS certification in the State. A total of 667 government healthcare facilities in Tamil Nadu have achieved NQAS certification.

A total of 91 hospitals, including 29 medical college hospitals, 28 district Headquarters Hospitals, 33 Sub-district Hospitals and 1 Community Health Centre have been nationally certified for LaQshya.