Complaints & Grievances

Complaining is not a hostile act

Families often hesitate to complain in a hospital, because the patient is still admitted and they fear the consequences. We want to be direct about this: raising a complaint will not affect the treatment the patient receives, and any suggestion otherwise from any member of staff is itself a serious matter to be reported.

Most problems are small, local and solvable in minutes — a call bell not answered, a bed not cleaned, a report not arriving, a rude response at a counter. Those are best raised immediately with the person in charge of that area rather than saved for a written complaint later, when the shift has changed and nobody can reconstruct what happened.

Some problems are serious, or have not been fixed after being raised. Those belong in the formal grievance process, which is written, logged, acknowledged and answered.

The escalation route

Work upward. Each level has more authority than the last, and skipping a level usually slows things down.

1. Level one — the nurse in charge of the ward

   For anything happening at the bedside: care, cleanliness, medicines, food, comfort, a call not answered, or the behaviour of a staff member on that floor. The ward nurse in charge can resolve most of these at once, and can call the duty doctor or the treating team where the issue is clinical.

2. Level two — the duty manager

   Available at all hours through the reception or the nursing station. Raise it here if the ward has not resolved the matter, if it crosses departments, if it concerns billing or admission, or if it needs authority the ward does not have. Ask for the duty manager by that designation and note the time you spoke.

3. Level three — written grievance to the grievance committee

   If the first two levels have not resolved it, or the matter is serious enough to warrant a formal record, submit it in writing using the form below or at the reception desk. It is logged with a reference number and routed to the grievance redressal committee.

4. Investigation

   The committee obtains the case record, the department's account and, where relevant, a clinical review. Serious clinical matters are also examined by the medical advisory committee.

5. Response and closure

   You are given the outcome, the reasoning and the corrective action taken. If you are not satisfied with the response, say so — the file can be reopened, and you retain the external options described below.

What to include in a written grievance

A grievance with these details can be investigated. One without them frequently cannot, however genuine it is.

• Patient's full name and the hospital identification number
• Dates of the visit or admission, and the ward, room or counter concerned
• The date, approximate time and shift when the incident occurred
• A factual account of what happened, in sequence
• Names or designations of the staff involved, if you know them
• What you had already raised, with whom, and what response you received
• Copies of any relevant documents — bill, prescription, report or discharge summary
• What outcome you are seeking: an explanation, a correction, an apology, a billing review, or a change in process
• A contact number and address at which you can be reached for the response

How a grievance is handled

• Every written grievance is logged with a reference number and acknowledged — keep the reference for all follow-up
• Straightforward matters, such as a billing query or a service lapse, are ordinarily resolved fastest; those requiring clinical review take longer because the record and the treating team's account must both be examined
• You will be told the expected timeline when the grievance is acknowledged; ask for it if it is not offered, and follow up against that date
• Grievances involving patient safety are escalated immediately and do not wait for the routine review cycle
• The identity of a complainant is kept confidential within the process, and complaining will never affect the patient's treatment
• Anonymous grievances are investigated where there is enough detail to work with, but we cannot give you the outcome
• Repeated grievances about the same issue are treated as a process failure and referred to the quality and patient safety committee

If you are not satisfied with our response

We would prefer to resolve a matter within the hospital, because that is the only way we learn from it. But you are not obliged to stop with us, and it is right that you should know the alternatives rather than have to find them out.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, external routes include the State Medical Council for matters concerning the professional conduct of a registered medical practitioner, the consumer redressal forum for matters of deficiency in service, the insurance company's grievance officer and thereafter the Insurance Ombudsman for insurance disputes. Matters involving an alleged criminal offence are for the police.

These are stated neutrally, as options that exist. Whichever route you choose, we will continue to provide the patient's care exactly as before, and we will co-operate with any legitimate enquiry.

Submit a grievance

Give as much of the detail listed above as you can. You will receive an acknowledgement with a reference number, and a response to the contact details you provide.