Complaint-receiving and redressal in 104 call centres    

VIJAYAWADA: The Health Department has decided to strengthen 104 call centres as a complaint-receiving and redressal mechanism. In the wake of recent reports of private ambulance drivers forming syndicates to fleece the patients in need, demanding money for extending ‘free’ services,  and negligence in Aarogyasri services, the department has decided to use 104 call centres as a solution.

People facing such problems can lodge a complaint with 104 call centres and officials concerned will initiate action after a thorough inquiry and the facts of such incidents will be made public through the media, Principal Secretary MT Krishna Babu said, during a video conference with district collectors on Thursday.

Collectors were asked to pay special attention to complete fever surveys as per the deadline.  He asked them to expedite administering precautionary Covid-19 vaccine doses to healthcare workers, frontline staff and people above 60 years of age. They were asked to conduct a special drive to reach the targets. 

Krishna Babu asked them to take measures for immediate payment of compensation to the kin of Covid-19 victims. He asked Health Commissioner and NHM Director J Nivas for redistribution of NHM staff among the reorganised districts and initiate steps for uploading of the master data pertaining to fire safety audit of all hospitals. As per the direction of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, vacancies in the Health Department will be filled by May 30. 

Officials were asked to ensure that there is no negligence in extending services to the poor in government hospitals and ensure that they return home safe and satisfied. There is a need for the doctors and staff to work more dedicated, he stressed. 

Collectors were instructed to send the pending bills related to Covid-19 works to the department by May 25 and thereafter for any pending bills, the officials concerned should to take the responsibility.  Stating that the government has sanctioned `650 crore for procuring medicines, he made it clear that there is no shortage of budget allocation for drugs.