Following complaints, Pune mayor instructs to covert Covid help desk into call centre, increase staff

Pune: With several complaints concerning the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) helpline for information on bed availability, Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol has instructed the civic authority to open a call centre immediately

Pune: With several complaints concerning the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) helpline for information on bed availability, Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol has instructed the civic authority to open a call centre immediately.

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Mohol said, “It is true that complaints are coming in, but it is also true that the numbers are busy, which means the staff is attending to some other patient’s call. I have instructed municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar to increase manpower immediately and make it like a call centre.”

As the second surge is high, there is bed shortage and relatives of positive patients are constantly trying the helpline numbers for availability of beds.

PMC has 10 helpline numbers for information about bed availability.

Mohol said, “I am personally following up whether the staff has increased and more lines are open.”

One of the employees manning the phone lines, on condition of anonymity, said, “It takes four to five minutes per call. The flow of incoming calls is high. We need to take down the patient’s details, like when did s/he test positive, saturation levels, which all takes time.”