If all goes as planned, state-run hospitals will soon be working in clockwork precision, German style.

The state Health department has approached GTZ — German Technical Cooperation — for technical support to reduce wastage and improve resource utilisation under the Indo-German agreement for the health sector.

The public-private partnership project will introduce better quality control in 13 secondary hospitals in the Capital by October-end, Principal Secretary (Health) J P Singh said.

Introducing checklists so that doctors do not run out of drugs in the OPD is a basic example to make a state-run hospital work like a well-oiled machine.

Simple changes like these introduced by GTZ have already proven effective in state-run hospitals in Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal, officials said.

The GTZ will be focussing on four areas: institutional development, management capacity development, clinical capacity development, and consumer empowerment. “GTZ will give us technical support, help us manage patient load efficiently and also improve standards of services in hospitals,” Singh said. “We will start with 13 secondary hospitals and the project should be operational by this month-end.

“The state government will invest in infrastructure but the expertise will come from GTZ.”

The project includes implementation of basic techniques like a token system for patients or helping patients queue up so that doctors do not waste time in controlling crowds. “We will facilitate a quality improvement process and set standards. We will try out some mechanisms that lead to better utilisation of existing facilities,” said Amit Phaliwal, senior technical specialist in quality management with GTZ’s health sector support.

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