Evaluating the impact of the “LaQshya” initiative on maternal care in operating rooms: A retrospective observational study

• Author Details:   
• Praveen Ramasamy
• Premkumar Damodaran
• Gowri S
• I Mohammed Arafath
• Puneeth H Pujar ^*

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Background: Maternal mortality remains a major challenge in low- and middle-income countries like India. To address gaps in obstetric care, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, launched the “LaQshya” initiative to improve the quality of care in labour rooms and maternity operation theatres (OTs). This study evaluates the impact of the LaQshya initiative on maternal outcomes in a tertiary care hospital.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted over 8 months comparing outcomes from the pre-implementation phase (May–August 2024) and the post-implementation phase (September–December 2024) of the LaQshya initiative. Key metrics included adverse anesthesia events, drug stock-outs, patient satisfaction scores, WHO Safe Surgical Checklist compliance and critical equipment downtime. Paired t-tests and chi-square tests were used for data analysis.

Results: Implementation of the LaQshya initiative significantly improved outcomes. Adverse anesthesia events decreased from 7.3 to 2.3 per 100 cesarean sections. Drug stock-outs reduced from 5 to 1 per month, patient satisfaction scores rose from 62% to 92%, WHO checklist compliance improved from 56% to 95%, and critical equipment downtime decreased by 75%.

Conclusion: The LaQshya initiative demonstrated substantial improvements in maternal care, highlighting the importance of quality improvement programs in reducing morbidity and mortality. The findings support the scalability of LaQshya to other healthcare facilities.