Under the National Health Mission (NHM), the 'Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS)' define infrastructure and human resource norms for different facility levels. At a Community Health Centre (CHC) serving a tribal/hilly area population, the minimum bed strength prescribed by IPHS is:

• A 20 beds
• B 50 beds
• C 30 beds ✓
• D 100 beds

Explanation

IPHS norms for a Community Health Centre specify 30 beds as the minimum bed strength for tribal/hilly and difficult-to-reach areas; 30 beds is also the general (plains) CHC standard. CHCs serve a population of approximately 80,000-1,20,000 in plains and 40,000-60,000 in tribal/hilly areas. The CHC must have four basic specialists: physician, surgeon, obstetrician/gynaecologist, and paediatrician — making it the first referral unit (FRU) capable of emergency obstetric and surgical care. Strengthening CHCs as FRUs is a key NHM strategy for reducing maternal and infant mortality.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.