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In Focus
Accreditation standards for wellness centres released
EH Staff - Mumbai
 In
what has been desired for long to keep the standard of wellness centres in check,
accreditation standards for wellness centres has been jointly released by the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Quality
Council of India (QCI) and National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare
Providers (NABH). Speaking about the standards, Dr. Girdhar Gyani, secretary
general, Quality Council of India, & CEO, NABH (National Accreditation Board
for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) said, "India has often delivered
highest level of tertiary care services which are comparable to the best in
the world. However the stigma of quackery in providing healthcare services must
be stamped out by building credibility for the services offered in the wellness
space in the country." The standards were released at a meeting on "Accreditation
Programme for Wellness Centres", organised by FICCI jointly with Quality
Council of India and NABH.
Stressing on the need for self-regulation by all the players in the wellness
industry, Dr. Gyani added, "Every player should adopt best practices and
adopt self-discipline to become a role model. Whatever regulatory mechanism
that is made will only improve the level of adoption of standards which most
of you are already following." He further observed "Customers are
the biggest beneficiary among all the stakeholders. Accreditation results in
high quality of care and customer safety. Customer satisfaction is regularly
evaluated. It stimulates continuous improvement enabling the wellness centre
in demonstrating commitment to quality service. It raises community confidence
in the services provided by the center and provides an opportunity to wellness
unit to benchmark with the best." Milind Soman, model, actor, and founder,
Breathe Fitness, said, "Regulation in the wellness industry is a must if
players who are there to make money quickly by whatever means are to be checked.
We must have inspections for the wellness centers. Indian accreditation is a
welcome step."
Dr. Harish Nadkarni, leading gynecologist and principal assessor,
NABH Programme, said, "The NABH standards of accreditation are dynamic
standards. The process of improvement is continuous. We have a well defined
programme for accreditation of wellness services which would be followed diligently."
The Accreditation Standards were prepared by Dr. Nadkarni, Jesper Housgard (CMD-Serena
Spa), Dr. Joseph I. Lewis (head R&D Kaya Ltd.), Prof. Adrian Kennedy (MD
- Lifetime Wellness Rx International Ltd.), Rekha Chakrabarty (Quality Management
Systems and Operational Excellence, Manipal Cure & Care Pvt. Ltd.), Dr.
Leena Phadnis (HOD-Physiotherapy, Wockhardt Hospitals) and Dr. Bhavana Gulati
(assistant director, NABH).
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