John and his friend Sekar asked the hospital authorities to arrange for an ambulance. It is alleged that the doctor on duty had said that there would be no response to their request from a hospital and public should arrange such service on its own.
'It is the duty of the hospital to attend to the patient. On humanitarian ground we took the patient to the hospital. But the staff at the hospital were not so serious to attend to him. The patient was asking drinking water but no pure water was available. Also, we had to arrange for an ambulance and the patient was under heavy stress and strain for nearly two hours,' said John.
On learning about the negligence of the hospital authorities, V Ravichandran, founder-chairman, Citizens Guardians, who is actively involved in social activities was called in by John. He then asked the hospital authorities for the complaint book to register the grievances.
'The hospital had not only refused to provide the complaint book, but also called the police. The police authorities who came to the spot and after enquiring advised the hospital staff to provide the complaint register. However, they seem not to know about such facility,' said Ravichandran.
To raise the issue with the top brass, Ravichandran, in a petition addressed to Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department, Tamilnadu government, has stated that 'Complaint Register to record complaints was not available at Government Peripheral Hospital, K K Nagar, Chennai - 78. Hospital staff, not even aware of the system of complaint register, requested placing of one for the public to record the poor civic conditions inside the hospital.'
He said that even collection of parking fee was done by issuing tokens of Rs 2 for two- wheelers and Rs 5 for other vehicles. It is not known whether such an arrangement was made by the government through calling for tenders.'
The Government Peripheral Hospital, K K Nagar, is located at a central place catering to the areas of Ashok Nagar, K K Nagar, MGR Nagar, Nesapakkam, Jafferkhanpet, Vadapalani and West Mambalam. All the poor LIG/MIG people depend solely on this hospital.
The government should look into the infrastructure facilities available in the hospital like presence of doctors on 24 hour basis, keeping the campus clean (even during small rain it is flooded) and availability of life-saving drugs, Ravichandran said in the petition which has been also addressed to the Special Officer, Chief Minister Cell and The Secretary to the Chief Minister.
When this reporter tried to contact the hospital over phone for clarification, the lines were busy for nearly one hour. Later, one attended to the call and said the doctor incharge of administration was on leave.
