KARACHI, March 10: Workers of private industrial concerns secured under the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (Sessi) scheme have complained of declining standards of treatment and medicines at the hospitals managed by Sessi.

Workers of a silk industry in Site Town said that for the past few years, they were being prescribed wrong or irrelevant medicines. Moreover, the prescribed medicines available at the recommended dispensaries were also of poor quality and proved ineffective or even harmful. They said the same medicines were prescribed every time they visited a dispensary with a particular problem.

One of the employees said he suffered from the chronic problem of ulcer. He maintained that he contracted the disease about three years back but instead of getting relief, he got the problem aggravated over this long period of time. He feared that the substandard medicines he had been prescribed seemed to be responsible for the aggravation. According to him, the Sessi hospitals and dispensaries had been providing quality treatment and prescribing appropriate medicines until a few years back.

Some other patients observed that poor workers were not being referred to private hospitals even when it became inevitable, but those enjoying support of some influential figures, including the doctor concerned, would get easily referred to a hospital of their choice for expensive treatment.

Most workers of various industrial units visiting a Sessi hospital complained of cumbersome procedure for availing the treatment facility.

They said that as a routine, a patient was made to visit a dispensary for treatment of common diseases, Valika hospital for consultation and a store for getting the prescribed medicines. They pointed out that the patients would have to spare a whole day enduring his medical problem since the three places were located far away from each other.

In most cases, a worker might not afford staying away from work unless inevitable as the majority of poor workers were employed on a daily wage basis.

They also pointed out that an employer could also not afford absence of his workers and would regard the request for leave to visit a dispensary, hospital or medical store frequently as a lame excuse.

“In order to avoid being sacked, the poor workers have to opt for expensive treatment at private clinics on their own and this renders the Sessi-sponsored medical facility useless,” said a group of employees at a hospital.

When asked to comment on workers’ claims, Dr (Capt) Naseer Haider, Senior Medical Officer and In-charge of the Sessi’s Site circle, rejected the allegation that any poor quality medicine was being provided to Sessi-run healthcare centres.

He maintained that medicines of only good quality and proven standards were procured mostly from multinational pharmaceutical firms and supplied to all Sessi-sponsored healthcare centres and medical stores. He further stated that no discrimination was being meted out to any worker on any grounds.