Nashik: Civic body launches grievance redressal cell to address patients' issues

The public health committee, which has been trying to fix the treatment rates for patients in the private hospitals of the city for the past few months, has succeeded in its efforts. Apart from instructing all the hospitals to fix their rates and display them clearly, Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) medical department has now provided a toll-free number for complaints related to patient services.

A private hospital (patient department) is registered under the Maharashtra Nursing Home Registration Act in the municipal area. There is a legal provision that hospitals should post their treatment rates in the front area of their premises so that patients who come for treatment know the rates.

However, the public health committee has alleged that the patients of a private hospital in the city were being financially exploited as there was no such tariff board put on display in the hospital premises.

Therefore, the committee demanded that all the hospitals must mandatorily display their tariff rates and the civic body's medical department should provide a toll-free number for patients to register their complaints in this regard.

After pursuing the matter, municipal medical superintendent Dr Bapusaheb Nagargoje has set up a grievance redressal cell in NMC's Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital at Kathada near Dwarka recently.

NMC has become the second civic body in the state to establish a grievance redressal cell for patient care.

The toll-free telephone number of the grievance redressal cell is 18002334249.

Dr Nagargoje has appealed to the citizens to call on this toll-free number in case of any of their complaints regarding private hospitals.

Santosh Jadhav, Advocate Nazim Kaji, Gautam Sonawane, Ravi Jagtap, Rakesh Pawar, and others were present during the launch of this grievance cell at Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital.

Dr Nagargoje was felicitated by the public health committee for being a competent enforcement officer in implementing Maharashtra Nursing Home Registration. Act