government hospitals and primary healthcare centres in West Bengal are not up to the mark with regards to the availability of medicines and the quality of treatment. This was revealed during a survey of people treated at 50 hospitals and health centres across the state. The Consumer Coordination Council, an apex national body of consumer organisations, supported by the Ford Foundation undertook the survey.

The purpose of the activity was to formulate and develop an effective complaint redress mechanism, which will lead to better services. The most startling fact revealed during the survey was that 88 per cent of the respondents had never complained about the poor hospital services. "The few who had lodged their complaint, got no response from the hospitals authorities,' said Bijoy Choudhury, director of Better Business Bureau, the state partner of the survey.