Patient safety nodal officer is must in all medical colleges: NMC

The National Medical Commission has directed medical colleges and teaching hospitals to establish patient safety cells and appoint nodal officers. The initiative aims to reduce avoidable medical errors, improve clinical protocols, ease patients’ financial burdens and strengthen public trust

Hyderabad: In a move to strengthen patient safety, improve healthcare services and reduce medical errors, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Monday directed all medical colleges and healthcare institutions to establish dedicated Patient Safety Cells and appoint nodal officers to institutionalise clinical care standards.

Under the new guidelines, all medical colleges and their associated teaching hospitals must appoint a designated Patient Safety Nodal Officer to oversee the implementation of safety protocols.

---

Teaching hospitals are also required to constitute a formal Patient Safety Committee or Cell comprising specialists from multiple disciplines. These cells will be responsible for implementing, monitoring and periodically reviewing standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Deans, principals and directors of medical colleges have been instructed to email the final composition of their institutional patient safety committees and details of their nodal officers directly to the National Patient Safety Secretariat.

The initiative aims to systematically reduce avoidable treatment-related adverse events, ease patients’ financial burdens through improved clinical efficiency, enhance overall patient satisfaction and rebuild public trust in healthcare systems.

Health administrators say the new NMC guidelines seek to shift medical institutions from a reactive approach to error reporting towards a proactive, protocol-driven safety culture across teaching hospitals nationwide.