In an effort to improve service delivery to its clients, the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) has implemented a toll-free telephone line and an email address, to allow members of the public to comment on the service received at health facilities across the region.

The toll-free number is 1888-429-5013 and the email address is: patientcare@serha.gov.jm.

In an interview with JIS News, SERHA Chairman, Dr Andrei Cooke, explained that the facility is to circumvent any step along the way where you think that the complaint will fall on deaf ears.

"The complaints that come in through this line or by email will come to an officer at the regional office who is designated to hear comments or complaints, document them, and bring them to the attention of the relevant heads of department," he explained.

"All complaints will be taken to the board, so that they can be assessed and remedial steps taken. We at SERHA are not afraid of complaints. Complaints show you where you need to make improvements, so we will try to remedy the situations as they arise and try to ease the pain index of our clients, which is what we are here to do," Dr Cooke added.

physically manned

According to the chairman, the line will be physically manned from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and at all other times, an automated attendant with voicemail facilities will be activated and where complaints will be recorded and logged. He gave the assurance that these will be dealt with in the same way as complaints that are answered directly.

Dr Cooke said that, when calls are made outside of the period that the phone line is physically manned, persons should state their name, the institution that they attended, and contact details. He added that they should also state clearly what the complaint is and the time of day they visited.