In a bid to improve quality control at the Cruz Roja Chapala Delegation, board members are encouraging folks with issues about service they have received to fill out “incident” reports.
The bilingual forms can be downloaded on the Cruz Roja website (see image right). Once filled out, they should be turned in to either Board Vice President Norm Pifer at (cel.) 331-469-6360 or Board President Oscar España Ramos at (cel.) 333-106-6061.
Pifer stresses that the board is interested in tracking down the truth about incidents connected to the Red Cross. Just passing the word around on the local gossip mill doesn’t help, he says.
“These incident reports are crucial because there is no real way for us to investigate these matters without the information provided on the document.”
In addition to Pifer and España, board members Lorraine Burnworth, Tina Cuevas, Miguel Patiño and Ana Luz Medeles are also keenly interested in the efficiency of the Cruz Roja operation.
The budget for the Chapala facility is 3.5 million pesos a year. There are 32 staff on the payroll.
“The clinic actually pays for itself because the majority of those who use it pay for the services,” says Pifer. “Where we really need to be careful is with the ambulance service. We recover only about ten percent of the costs of the ambulance operations.”
The ambulance service makes about 60 calls a month – 40 percent are performed by the ambulance stationed in Ajijic.
“Though we can’t force people to pay for Cruz Roja services, everyone is expected to pay and they should know that ambulance transport to a hospital in Guadalajara carries a tab of 2,500 pesos,” says Pifer.
Pifer stresses that incidents should be reported promptly and the exact time correctly stated on the incident report. This is because records are kept of which crew members are on duty at any particular time.
The board is also interested in incidents related to the answering of telephone calls. They want to know when a call goes unanswered or when a patient is ignored or treated with disrespect.
To download the incident report, go to www.cruzrojalakeside.com. Click on to “Lakeside Happening” to find the link to the incident report. The board of directors will see to it that an investigation of the incident will be made immediately and there will be an answer to your complaint within 48 to 72 hours.