November 18, 2008	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 19, 1429

HYDERABAD, Nov 17: Thousands of serving and retired as well as their dependents, are suffering badly in two defunct divisions of Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) as a result of apparently flawed medical policy of the company.

Non-availability of drugs in the PTCL’s few dispensaries and consultant services was also causing huge financial and mental burden on poor employees.

Only three dispensaries existing in Kotri, Latifabad and Mirpurkhas — are devoid of any noteworthy medical facility to cater to healthcare needs of above-mentioned workers, who have to turn-up there from far flung areas like Mithi, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, Sanghar, Badin, Thatta and Dadu districts.

Investigations, however, revealed that even sugar, blood test or x-ray facilities are non-existent in dispensaries. Employees suffer financially and physically as a result of PTCL’s medical policy coupled with cumbersome approval methodology. It requires them to first see doctors in any of the three dispensaries to just get letters for consultations of doctors and laboratory tests at CMH. Then they meet consultant for a prescription of medicines notwithstanding the fact that they live in Mithi, Sanghar, Badin, Thatta or Dadu.

Then the employees have to obtain rates of medicines to be submitted to region office for approval. It is after at least five trips to dispensary, CMH and regional offices, that they get approval for medicines of varying amount accorded either by general manager human resources and regional general manager.

For retired employees with pension their only earning, it makes substantial difference to them in terms of travelling expenses alone.

Since CMH is on PTCL’s panel, it pays Rs300 for each consultation of worker to CMH. But dispensary doctor avoids prescribing medicines.

“The dispensary for employees who live in the city centres is in occupation of senior manager-II in Kutcha Qilla (formerly director telegraph office) so it can’t be established there”, said CBA union leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan. So, he said, everyone has to go to Latifabad for obtaining a referral letter for CMH or for any of Karachi’s designated hospitals, in case of major illness.

“Doctors at these dispensaries merely perform clerical functions by just referring patients for consultation to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Hyderabad”, said a source. While services of Agha Khan Hospital for laboratory tests, child and maternal healthcare are not available to employees since December 2007, the drugs are only made available to them through local purchases after the said procedure which remains quite cumbersome.

The situation of those employees who need admission or medical services of Karachi-based PTCL’s panel institutions is even more grim.

The employees are required to first get referral letter from PTCL’s dispensary and then they have to make a personal appearance before senior manager (medial services) Dr Sadia, who would see them and then accord approval for admission with a counter signature. If the employee(s) needs angiography then she would approve it.

Then after another verification from PTCL regional office, he would get a cheque which takes at least 20 days for issuance.

Same is the case with those patients, who suffer from cancer.

“Karachi’s doctors don’t recognise laboratory investigations of CMH and they call for fresh investigations”, said Shakeel Ahmed Khan. He said that for how long PTCL workers would keep suffering in order to get quality medical treatment. “We even don’t have ambulances for emergency cases”, he said.