Freetown — The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), in collaboration with the ministries of Health and Sanitation and Defence yesterday launched two service charters for the 34 Military Hospital and the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) respectively.

Director of national anti-corruption strategies, Shollay Davies said the purpose of having a service charter was to encourage and support public institutions to become more transparent in their activities.

"It will serve as a tool for evaluating performance on service delivery. We are by no means suggesting that service charters are the best tools for transparency and accountability," he said.

Davies noted that service charters help public agencies to manage the expectations of service users, spell out the boundaries of the services offered and provide a framework for consultations with service users.

Deputy minister of Health and Sanitation, Mohamed Daudis Koroma said the service charter was a public document that outlines the services provided by an institution, the user charges, timeliness and complaints mechanism put in place in case the services are not rendered.

"The charter will encourage the PCMH and 34 Military Hospital to be more customer-friendly and provide the necessary satisfaction needed. They are international best practices that provide immense benefits to the customer," he said.

Minister of Defence, Paolo Conteh said the introduction of the service charter was timely and important as it would promote efficient healthcare service delivery.