The Jipmer Rural Health Centre in Ramanathapuram has received National Quality Assurance Standards certification recently.
The Jipmer Rural Health Centre (JRHC) at Ramanathapuram, under the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine (P&SM), has received the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification.
A press note said the JRHC was the first Health and Wellness Centre (HWC) in the Union Territory of Puducherry to receive NQAS certification, marking a significant step in strengthening quality primary health care delivery in the region.
The JRHC secured a score of 91.05% during the rigorous national-level external assessment under the National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) framework, developed by the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The NQAS, a national-level accreditation system that evaluates the quality of public health facilities across India, assessesed performance across eight critical domains — service provision, patient rights, inputs, support services, clinical care, infection control, quality management, and outcomes. Facilities meeting these standards are certified for their ability to deliver safe, effective, and patient-friendly healthcare.
According to Jipmer, an NQAS-certified institution is authorised to display the NQAS logo, becomes a benchmark for quality primary care, and also stands to receive financial incentives to sustain and enhance quality improvement initiatives.
The Jipmer Urban Health Centre (JUHC), Kurussukuppam, too excelled in its State-level assessments and would undergo the forthcoming national-level evaluation.
Vir Singh Negi, Jipmer Director, commended the department and said the rural and urban health centres embody Jipmer’s integrated approach to community-based health services and training.
The certification achievement is also attributed to a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach that involved outreach programmes and telemedicine contributions from various Jipmer departments, such as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Ophthalmology, Psychiatry, and Emergency Medicine.
According to the press note, the rural health centre in Ramanathapuram, is a 24X7 facility catering to over 11,200 residents across four villages — Ramanathapuram, Thondamanatham, Thuthipet, and Pillayarkuppam, while the urban health centre in Kurusukuppam, serves a population of around 9,000.
Both centres operate as Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, delivering a comprehensive package of primary health care services. In addition to routine outpatient and emergency care, antenatal, child, and immunisation clinics, they offer specialised services, such as high-risk pregnancy, NCD, adolescent, geriatric, mental health, dental, ophthalmology, and tobacco cessation clinics.
Over the years, the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine has pioneered best practices, such as the Family Health Advisory Programme, Family Folder System for community health records, WHO Geriatric Care and Teleophthalmology projects. Moreover, several model outreach initiatives have strengthened both rural and urban primary health systems, Jipmer said.
Published – October 24, 2025 07:44 pm IST
