New accreditation standards for vision centres unveiled by QAI

To enhance primary eye care services in India, the Quality and Accreditation Institute (QAI) has launched new accreditation standards for vision centres (VCs). This initiative has been supported by Orbis, a non-profit organisation that aims to prevent and treat avoidable blindness. Seven premier eye care institutes of India were involved in the process. The initiative aims to establish uniform quality standards and improve service delivery outcomes at the primary level, addressing the growing public health concern of eye health.

Eye health has emerged as a critical area in public health, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recognising it as essential to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in its Global Action Plan 2014-19. To meet the goals of UHC, Universal Eye Health Coverage is crucial and can be achieved through Integrated People-Centered Eye Care (IPEC). This approach necessitates the provision of comprehensive eye care using a health system approach at the primary level, primarily through the establishment of vision centres.

India’s vision for eye health is ambitious yet necessary. During its 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-2017), the country aimed to establish 5,000 vision centres to provide comprehensive primary eye care at the community level. With a current population of 1.45 billion, India now requires approximately 30,000 vision centres to meet the demand, as recommended by VISION 2020: The Right to Sight. The diverse service and process standards across these centres have highlighted the urgent need for standardised accreditation to ensure consistent and high-quality care.

The newly launched standards are designed to address these challenges. They lay down criteria and requirements to define systems, processes, and performance measurements, enabling vision centres to comply with these standards. The formulation of these standards includes the creation of a Technical Experts Group, facilitated by QAI, to finalise the scope of services for VCs and the eligibility criteria for assessors. The draft standards were reviewed by the technical group and made available for public feedback, ensuring an inclusive approach.