In a meeting held on 22nd November 2007 at the office of the Superintendent of Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Guwahati, The North East Clinical Excellence Foundation was formed to work towards better healthcare in the North East region of India by promoting professional competence and clinical excellence. The Foundation became a Public Charitable Trust (Indian Trust Act 1882) in January 2010.
The inaugural speech was given by Prof P K Bhatta explaining the purpose of the meeting followed by the introduction of the doctors present. The purpose and background of the initiative was presented in detail by Dr JB Sarma highlighting the need for a forum in the region to build capacity of the profession so as to be able provide highest standard of care possible to the patients given the difficult prevailing circumstances. The theme Dr Sarma''s presentation was echoed by Dr Nripen Borkotoky of the United Assam Association of the UK, who offered all possible help on behalf of doctors residing in the UK amd the USA.
There was a open and farnk discussion on various related issues amongst the doctors present. Dr P Bhatta, Dr J B Sarma, Dr N Borkataky, Dr Subhod Goswami, Dr D Sarma, Dr R Talukdar, Dr Chandana Sarma, Dr Swaroop Barua, Dr I Ali and Dr Monalisa Sarma participated in a lively discussion on the various aspects of the initiative and made suggestions. Dr G Bezbarua shared her experience how the protocols that the paediatrics department of GMCH has written for various conditions and how these protocol based approch were contributing to better patient care.
Dr Monalisa Sarma suggested the name North East Clinical Excellence Foundation (NECEF) which was unanimously accepted by the meeting heralding the birth of a new organisation to work in the field of clinical excellence in the region.
The proposed organisational structure of the foundation as originally proposed by Dr JB Sarma in his presentation comprising of an executive council (EC), core professional group (CPG), speciality groups (SG) and general forum (GF) was accepted. The suggestion by Dr Monalisa Sarma to keep the EC compact and its membership restricted to the nominees of the sponsoring bodies of the initiative viz., Prag Foundation, the UAAUK, a selected other prospective sponsoring bodies and a few competent individuals was welcomed by the meeting as an efficient model. Dr JB Sarma, UK, Dr Nripen Barkataki, UK, Dr Bhupendra Deva Sarmah, UK and Dr PK Bhatta, Guwahati were nominated as the first four EC members and entrusted with all the executive power of the foundation including completing the legal formalities required for the formation of the foundation as a Society or Public Charitable Trust or as a Non-for-Profit Company.
The members of the CPG would include senior figures from the profession. All the doctors present were made members of the general forum and SG in their respective discipline.
Dr JB Sarma committed to the expenditure related for a period of 1 year.
Following were present in the formation meeting held on 22nd November 2007:
- Dr P K Bhattacharya (General Medicine, Guwahati)
- Dr Nripen Barkataky (GP, England)
- Dr Jayanta B Sarma (Clinical Microbiology, England)
- Dr Subodh Goswami (ENT, Guwahati)
- Dr Ilias Ali (General Surgery, Guwahati)
- Dr Dipak Kumar Sarma (General Surgery, Guwahati)
- Dr Javed Ali (Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Guwahati)
- Dr Kuldip Kumar Saikia (ENT, Guwahati)
- Dr Abhijit Sarma (GI Surgery, Guwahati)
- Dr Monalisa Goswami Sarma (Neurology, Guwahati)
- Dr Neelakshi Mahanta (Internal Medicine, Guwahati)
- Dr Jogesh Sarma (Internal Medicine, Guwahati)
- Dr Swaroop Kumar Barua (Internal medicine, Guwahati)
- Dr Munindra Goswami (Neurology, Guwahati)
- Dr Ramen Talukdar (Radiology, Guwahati)
- Dr Chandana Sarma (Internal Medicine, Guwahati)
- Dr A K Barman (Nephrology, Guwahati)
- Dr Gayatri Bezboruah (Paediatrics, Guwahati)
- Dr Manoj kumar choudhury (Physiology, Guwahati)
- Dr Deepjyoti Kalita (Clinical Microbiology, Guwahati)
The formation of the Foundation has been reported in The Telegraph (18 August 2008).
The North East Clinical Excellence Foundation has become a Public Charitable Trust in 2010 under the Indian Trust Act managed by group of eminent Trustees.
Mission
To work towards better healthcare responsive to the need of the people in India's North East by promoting professional competence and clinical excellence. We aim to provide leadership in strategic areas, raise public awareness and influence government policy in matters such as 'patient safety' through advocacy. We promote clinical excellence by facilitating adoption of evidence based clinical guidelines by hospital and practitioners and forging collaboration with experts and institutions.
Promote Clinical Governance by
- facilitating adoption of evidence based clinical guidelines by hospital and practitioners
- recognising excellence achieved by individual practitioners, teams and institutions
- developing a quality assurance scheme for grading healthcare facilities
Engage in Continuous Professional Development
Raise public awareness in 'patient safety' issues and disease prevention and healthy living
Strategic alliance and collaboration with national and international experts and institutions
A. Main Objects
- Promote clinical excellence and better health care system responsive to people''s need by facilitating clinical governance, continuous professional development, education, training and institutional capacity building through innovative proactive actions and collaborative working with government and healthcare institutions both in public and private sectors.
- Strive to position itself as a leader dedicated to promote clinical excellence and healthcare by combining the best that the specialised institutions and individuals have to offer.
- Strive to position itself in the north east region of India as the principal mechanism to channelise private competencies - including financial, technical and managerial - to promote clinical excellence and healthcare to appropriately complement governmental competencies and efforts in this regard.
- Ensure that robust, effective, strategic and statutory frameworks are in place so as to create an environment for clinical excellence and safer clinical practice.
- Ensure that policies, procedures and practices at the level of government, institutions as well as individual practice are robust enough to ensure safe, efficient and excellent clinical practice so as to avoid needless deaths and sufferings of the patients, relatives and public in general.
- To that effect ensure transformation of the public and private hospitals and other related establishments such as diagnostic centre and clinics so that they are able to offer ethical, safe and excellent clinical care to the public at a just and affordable cost.
- Pilot and suggest high impact applications and interventions to ensure effective, efficient and safer clinical practices that can be viably implemented by demonstrating feasibility, cost effectiveness and power to guide improvement.
- Ensure it acts as a source of expert knowledge and information to help government and institutions address challenges, immediate, medium and long term, and offer public assurance, unbiased advice and information in the field of healthcare.
- Develop, promote and run an accreditation programme (or collaborate with established programmes as appropriate) for the hospitals, diagnostics centers, clinics, clinical laboratories and diagnostic centers with a view to facilitate continuous improvement of services meeting accepted national and international standards and help public gain confidence in services provided by these entities so as to be able to make informed choices.
B. Instrumental, incidental or Ancillary Objects
- Identify major opportunity areas in delivery of health care mechanisms.
- Show the proof of concept of ideas by implementing pilot.
- Craft virtual North East Clinical Excellence Foundation to be the repository and preferred site for online training, continuous professional development and any information on solutions, benchmarks, best practices and successful roll-outs of effective initiatives.
- Undertake practical research and develop concept papers when necessary in alliance with the best institutions in India and outside to enable government and other organizations in promoting better healthcare.
- Develop directory of services, databases and network.
- Work with specific departments/programs to identify opportunities.
- Document case studies of successful projects and applications already developed and functioning in the field and facilitate their adoption.
- Conduct conferences, retreats and workshops likely to advance the objectives of the Trust.
- Develop papers, reports, films, videos and other multi-media presentations and ensure effective dissemination of the learning and output of the Trust.
- Create an active learning community among health professionals, civic players and policy makers.
- Undertake consulting assignments for third parties on health and medical care delivery issues.
- Organise surveys into the satisfaction of the service users of hospital and other related institutions, there by producing league table to encourage healthy competition and collaboration to improve service and care.
- Organise exchange programs for staff and people involved in health and medical care and to provide training of work India or abroad.
- Liaise, cooperate or associate, represents, collaborate, with national, international educational organizations, with any Government Departments or National International Institutions concerned with the furtherance of health and medical care.
- Carry out, implement, promote, sponsor, assist and / or establish and activity for promotion of better health and medical care, publication of any books, literature, newspapers etc., and / or for organizing lectures and / or seminars likely to advance these objects or for giving merit awards, for giving scholarships, loans and / or any other assistance to deserving candidates or other scholars or persons to enable them to prosecute their studies or academic pursuits or researches and for establishing conducting and/or assisting, any institutions, fund, trust, association etc., having any one of the aforesaid objects, as one of its objects by giving donations or otherwise in any other manner in order to implement any of the above mentioned objects or purposes.
- Make donations and/or give grants to any persons, companies, societies, foundations, institutions, universities and/or trust who have objects similar to any one or more of the objects of the company for the purpose of promoting, assisting and/or encouraging the carrying and/or achievement of such objects or object.
- Provide endow, furnish and / or fit out any of its property with all necessary furniture, instruments and other equipment and maintain and/or manage offices, premises center, institutions and other establishments or institutions for the furtherance and/or advancement of any one or more of the objects of the Company.
- Acquire, buy, sell, market, distribute, exchange and/or otherwise dispose of, store, hold, package, transport, use experiment, with handle, in educational equipment in order to achieve the objects of the Company.
- Purchase, take on lease or in exchange, hire or otherwise acquire any immovable or moveable property and any rights or privileges for the attainment of the Company objects.
- Construct, maintain and alter any building or erection and to provide the same with all proper and necessary fixtures, furniture, fittings, apparatus, appliances, conveniences and accommodations for the purposes of the activities of the Trust.
- Raise funds and accept donations (in cash or kind) subscriptions, grants of money, securities, and property of any kind and / or to undertake and accept the management of transfer of any endowment, trust fund or donation not inconsistent with the objects of the Trust.
- Open and operate a banking account or banking accounts and to draw, make, accept, endorse, discount, execute and issue promissory notes, bills of exchange, bills of lading, warrants, drafts, cheques, bonds, debentures and other negotiable or transferable instruments.
- Print and publish and periodicals, books, journals, booklets and / or leaflets in furtherance of its objects.
- Accept grants from any governments or agencies or authorities, public bodies, corporations, companies or persons or money, movable and immovable property, donations, gifts, subscriptions, devices, bequests, and other assistance with a view to promoting the objects of the Trust and in receiving any gift of property to take the same either unconditionally or subject to any special conditions which may be prescribed by the donor in writing.
- Promote or assist in the promotion of any trust, company or association having objects similar to the object of the Trust.
- Establish and support professorship, fellowships and lectureships, scholarships, chairs and prizes at any institution dealing with health and medical care issues.
- Establish, maintain and support libraries and reading rooms either virtual or real for advancement of better health and medical care.
- Establish branches and offices in different parts of India and abroad.
- Do all such other lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.