New Delhi: Government will soon start a feedback system wherein patients will be able to grade hospitals and its facilities.

This will be part of the Centre's efforts to improve quality of services under the 'Kayakalp' programme.

"Patients will be able to give their feedback on a digital platform and through mobile phones. They will be able to share their experiences at the hospital. We are trying to make ourselves accountable.

"Once discharged, a patient will receive an SMS and he/she would be asked to grade various facilities like the food quality, sanitation or the treatment facilities of the hospital," Union Health Minister J P Nadda said.

He said this here while delivering the presidential address at the sixth convocation ceremony of PGIMER and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

He also said the government under the 'Kayakalp' programme this year will grade each and every hospital of the country on several parameters like sanitation and hygiene, infection control, hospital upkeep, waste management, management of the patients.

The grading would be made public, he said.

He also advised the graduating students to be compassionate towards the patients despite their hectic schedule.

"Two minutes of patient hearing can change the confidence of a patient," he said.

Nadda said the government is also taking concrete steps to encourage the setting up of new medical colleges and strengthening of the existing ones.

Existing medical colleges are being upgraded by setting up of super specialty blocks in 70 such colleges in the country.

"We are expanding the network of our colleges in a big way by upgrading 58 district hospitals to medical colleges. 20 state cancer institutes and 50 tertiary cancer care centres are being set up.

"We must harness the tremendous potential of the IT services in medical education and health care delivery. Our government is taking concrete steps to expand the scope of telemedicine -- bringing in tele-education, tele-consultation, tele-radiology," he said.

The National Medical College Network (NMCN) is going to link 35 government medical colleges with the National Resource Centre and six Regional Resource Centres to utilise high bandwidth connectivity provided by NMCN for better use of telemedicine.