NEW DELHI: A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has highlighted significant dissatisfaction among patients visiting Safdarjung Hospital, one of Delhi’s largest tertiary care centres.
The feedback, collected under the Union Health Ministry’s “Mera Hospital” initiative, found that 30% of the 6,545 surveyed patients were unhappy with the hospital’s services.
The survey, conducted between September and October, shed light on critical areas where the hospital is failing its patients.
One of the primary reasons for dissatisfaction was the behaviour of hospital staff, with 41% of the unhappy patients citing rude conduct by doctors and nurses. Specifically, 39% of respondents were dissatisfied with the behaviour of doctors, while 10% felt the nurses were unprofessional. The Pediatrics Surgery department emerged as the most criticized, with 60% of its patients expressing dissatisfaction.
Other departments, such as Neurology, General Surgery, Medical Oncology, and Medicine, also faced scrutiny, with dissatisfaction levels ranging from 26% to 40%.
The issue of staff behaviour was compounded by operational inefficiencies. Long queues were flagged as a major concern by 48% of respondents, while 15% were frustrated by excessive crowding.
Cleanliness remained a persistent problem, with 13% of patients voicing their discontent. Affordability also emerged as a challenge, as 17% of those surveyed found the cost of treatment to be unsatisfactory.
A significant 29% of patients felt that doctors did not listen to their complaints attentively, a sentiment that was unanimous among Pediatrics department patients. Additionally, 43% of respondents reported no relief in their symptoms following treatment, raising questions about the quality of care provided.