In a written complaint, they alleged that doctors and nurses had not only abused slum-dwellers but also assaulted them physically. Such incidents, they said, were especially common in the labour room.

NCH medical superintendent Dr Khalija A Saifee, however, dismissed the charges as ``vague''. She told Express Newsline, ``I have asked all the health workers for specific information, including the names of the doctors and nurses, and the time of the incidents.''

Hafizaben, a health worker in the Shahra Darwaja area, alleged that on June 8, when she rushed four people injured in an accident to the NCH at 1.30 am, they had had to wait for medical attention till 6 am. ``As a result, two people Pramialaben, 35, and Puja, 7 died'', she alleged, maintaining that had the doctors attended to them on time, they could have survived.

Ramchandra, Puja's father, told Express Newsline, ``The doctor at the emergency ward was so discourteous, he even slapped me when my daughter lay there dying''.

Saifee said all she needed was the doctor's name so that he could be summoned before the health workers.

Navsarjan director Fr Vincent, however, was reluctant to take names. ``We do not intend to accuse just one or two individuals. This is a general complaint about the deterioration of services in the hospital. Now it's upto them to set their house in order.''

Saifee, on her part, has promised to look into any problem the health workers brought to her. But many, including a senior faculty member of NCH, wonder how far that will help the patients.

``The general attitude of civil hospital doctors is such that it's bound to hurt someone's dignity'', said the faculty member. ``It's a fact that government hospital doctors are less courteous than those in private hospitals. When they join private hospital they become courteous.''