Of the over 1,600 calls that the helpline number (104) receives, only 50 of them are for registering complaints. 

While most of the complaints pertain to poor infrastructure, sanitation, misbehaviour on part of the staff, the unavailability of certain drugs and poor treatment, the most common complaint is the delay in treatment and receipt of blood and urine test reports. 

“I wanted to take food for my husband who was admitted at Stanley Medical College Hospital with extremely high fever. But, I wasn’t allowed to meet him and the staff there did not give me a reason for it,” said Muthulakshmi P, a resident of Royapuram. 

“I spoke to a few other attenders at the waiting shed, and they advised me to refrain from complaining stating that it could anger the staff working there and result in the delay in my husband’s discharge,” she said. 

In a survey conducted by Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption NGO, it was seen that many fear retaliation from doctors and therefore refrain from filing complaints. “For every complaint mechanism, like the Chennai Corporation’s toll-free number, the complainant gets a receipt or an affirmation that something will be done about it. There is, however, no such system in place with 104,” said Prashanth Gautam from the NGO. 

“Another problem is that many patients who visit these government hospitals, especially Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), consider it as a big multi-national hospital. As they have seen far worse in their own districts, they accept whatever treatment is meted out to them,” he added. 

“They do not understand the implications of the health risk that come with it,” said Prashanth, adding that every complaint should be registered and be made available to higher officials and the public. 

Meanwhile, a senior health official denied that people are ignorant of the helpline number. “While 104 is one of the complaint mechanisms, we cannot assume that nobody knows about it. The helpline number has received 27,36,214 calls since its inception. Of them, 37.5% have been effectively addressed. To say people are unaware is a perception,” the official said. 

“But, we know that there is much scope for improvement, we will put up more advertisements inside and outside hospitals. We are constantly putting up bill boards and sensitising department officials of challenges in satisfaction levels,” he added.