WhatsApp Grievance Alerts
A CSAT score of 1 or 2 opens a grievance immediately — the patient is asked what went wrong, and their category and own words go straight to the grievance number. Here's exactly what that looks like.
Example: the actual conversation and the alert it triggers
Please reply with a number from 1 to 5:
5 - Excellent
4 - Good
3 - Okay
2 - Could be better
1 - Very poor2:00 PM
[Waiting time] [Billing] [Staff behaviour] [Cleanliness] [Communication] [Food] [Insurance / TPA] [Other]2:31 PM
The grievance is opened the moment the score comes in, before the category reply even arrives — the alert with the category and complaint text follows a few minutes later once the patient responds. No dashboard, no login, no waiting for a weekly report.
Why WhatsApp for complaints?
Because it is where people already complain. On India’s National Consumer Helpline, the share of grievances registered through WhatsApp grew from 3% in March 2023 to 20% in March 2025 (Department of Consumer Affairs, via PIB). That is every consumer sector, not hospitals alone, but a patient who is unhappy is far more likely to type a reply on WhatsApp than to fill in a form or call back.
How it works
- 4 hours after discharge (configurable per hospital), the patient gets one WhatsApp message asking them to reply 1–5, where 5 is "Excellent" and 1 is "Very poor."
- A score of 1 or 2 opens a grievance immediately: an apology message goes out, followed by a category list — waiting time, billing, staff behaviour, cleanliness, communication, food, insurance/TPA, or other — or the patient can just type what happened instead.
- Whichever comes back — a tapped category or free text — is sent to the grievance number, along with the score and the patient's own words.
- A serious grievance that goes unacknowledged past its target response time also alerts the hospital owner directly, as a one-time backstop separate from their regular monthly summary.
- Separately, 2 hours after the original CSAT reply, every respondent — score 1 through 5, same message, same delay — gets an identical Google/Practo review invitation. Score never decides who gets asked.
What this doesn't include
This is an alert mechanism, not a full case-management system — there's no ticket ID or status field beyond what staff track themselves, and severity/escalation decisions stay with staff rather than being decided by AI. Hospitals that need a formal audit trail for accreditation purposes should read our piece on NABH accreditation and patient feedback software for what to keep alongside the alerts. What this guarantees is speed to the first alert and an unfiltered category/complaint record, not case-tracking paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
What CSAT score opens a grievance?
A score of 1 or 2 out of 5 opens a grievance immediately, triggering an apology message to the patient and a category prompt, then an alert to the hospital's grievance number. Scores of 3 to 5 get a simple thank-you message instead, with no grievance opened.
How does CareLoop know what the complaint is about?
After a low score, the patient is shown a list of categories — waiting time, billing, staff behaviour, cleanliness, communication, food, insurance/TPA, or other — and can tap one, or simply type what happened in their own words instead. If they don't tap a category, keyword matching on their free-text reply fills it in where possible.
Who receives the grievance alert, and what happens if it's ignored?
The grievance number designated at setup receives the alert as soon as the patient's category or complaint text comes in. If a serious grievance goes unacknowledged past its target response time, the hospital owner is also alerted as a one-time backstop, separate from the regular monthly summary they otherwise receive.