All India Postal & RMS Pensioners Association
(Registered No: 83/2015 under Tamilnadu Societies Registration Act, 1975)
Chennai HQ: 2/44, Muthial Chetty Street, Purasawalkam, Chennai - 600007
New Delhi HQ: First Floor, North Avenue Post Office Building, North Avenue, New Delhi - 110001
AIPRPA
/CGHS / Medical /2020 Dated
18.07.2020
To
1.
Comrade
Shiva Gopal Mishra
President NCCPA & JCM Staff
Side Secretary
New Delhi 110001
2.
Comrade
KKN Kutty
Secretary General NCCPA &
JCM Standing Committee Member
New Delhi
Dear Comrades!
Sub: CGHS/Medical related urgent
issues – regarding.
Kindly recall the discussions we
had in the NCCPA Executive video conference on 16.07.2020 and to the minutes of
the Health Secretary’s meeting with the JCM National Council Staff Side leaders
on 09.07.2020.
We
appreciate the initiative taken by the Staff Side JCM to discuss important
issues related to CGHS with the Health Secretary. Some orders have been issued
recently with regard to treatment by the CGHS beneficiaries for covid 19 as
well as for purchase of medicines for general diseases in shops by the
beneficiaries for reimbursement etc. However, there are some important issues
that need to be addressed with the Health Secretary related to covid-19 and
general treatment especially for pensioners.
1.
The P&T Pensioners living in non-CGHS areas
also are now permitted to join CGHS since December, 2018. But they have to
travel to CGHS cities for any treatment because there are no empanelled
hospitals and diagnostic centres in those non-CGHS centres. A policy decision
has to be taken for allowing at least one empanelled renowned hospital and a
diagnostic centre in all districts of the country to cater to the medical needs
of pensioners living in those non-CGHS centres on a cashless basis.
2.
The CGHS administration
should employ specialists once in two weeks such as Cardiologist,
Urologist,Nephrologist, Opthalmologist , Paediatrician, Gynaecologist etc in
all CGHS Centres. Presently there is no such system in many Postal Dispensaries
converted into CGHS Centres. Further the CGHS beneficiaries may be allowed to
get the consultations from the consulting rooms of the Government specialists
instead of government hospitals which are mostly crowded and available only on
specific days of the week in hospitals.
3.
Some CGHS Centres don’t have any empanelled
hospitals. As a temporary measure the CGHS Pensioners shall be allowed to get
the treatment from other than empanelled hospitals at the CGHS rates and claim
reimbursement. The CGHS beneficiaries may be permitted to approach the CSMA
hospitals and claim reimbursement at the CGHS approved rates. However efforts
should be on for empanelling reputed hospitals in those centres to permanently
alleviate the problem. Similarly there are Centres which were earlier P&T
Dispensaries but now amalgamated into CGHS without any referral hospitals or
diagnostic centres. Until empanelment is done, the CGHS beneficiaries shall be
allowed to take treatment in any other CSMA hospitals and claim reimbursement.
4.
In some CGHS Centres (e.g., Ranchi in Jharkhand)
there are no empanelled hospitals approved for covid 19 treatment by the State
Government. Therefore it is necessary to permit the CGHS beneficiaries to
approach those private hospitals approved by the State Government for covid 19
treatment even though they are not the empanelled hospitals for covid 19
treatments.
5.
The Medical
reimbursement should be effected to the beneficiaries within 30 days on
submission of bills as per the direction of Supreme Court judgment and penal
interest shall be sanctioned in case of non-adherence of the above direction.
6.
There is no Gynecologist Doctor in many CGHS
wellness centres causing women pensioners face trouble with their treatment.
(e.g. Indore and Guwahati CGHS Centre)
7.
Recently 33 Postal Dispensaries were amalgamated
with CGHS as per the recommendations of the 7th CPC. But
unfortunately these converted CGHS dispensaries are not augmented with
necessary Doctors and Para medical staff despite lapse of many months since
amalgamation. We request that till
making regular appointments unemployed persons should be appointed as casual
staff.
8.
The Central Cabinet Minister Shri. Narendra Singh
Tomar had inaugurated with all fanfare a CGHS centre in the city of Gwalior.
But unfortunately no follow up had been taken and whatever little arrangement
was made for the Minister’s function are totally removed. Similarly there were
expectations on the basis of the move of the Government that in many important
centres like Panchkula, Mohali,
Gwalior, Kannur, Kozhikode, Nasik, Aurangabad, Ichhapur, Ludhiana, Rohtak,
Wadi, Mysuru, Mandi, Haldwani, Madurai, Coimbatore, Warrangal, Katni,
Chandrapur and Leh that CGHS wellness centres will be opened.
The hopes of employees and pensioners were hiked because of collecting
figures etc from these centres by the CGHS authorities. But we do not know of
the progress in this direction. We desire that the efforts be expedited to open
CGHS centres early in all these centres.
9.
At present except Guwahati (Assam) none of the
remaining six North Eastern States have any referral hospitals in the entire
revenue states. This is causing innumerable strain as any treatment involves very
long travel to Guwahati from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
and Tripura in the godforsaken terrain of the entire area. Therefore at least
one referral hospital and diagnostic centre shall be authorised in each
headquarter of the revenue state in North East.
10. Ayurveda,
Homeopathy like alternative treatment are to be generally encouraged under
CGHS. Recently there were some efforts to open up these wings in addition to
dental wing in centres like Indore. But unfortunately the progress is very
sluggish. We desire that speedy action is taken in this direction to open up
these alternative wings under CGHS.
11. In most centres only one
centre of Ayush Centre is available which is not possible to reach under lock
down conditions. Hence the immunity boosting
Sidha and Homepathy medicines
like Kabasura Kudineer, Nilvembu
Kudineer (Siddha) and Arsenicum Album 30 (Homeopathy) formulations to all the
CGHS Wellness Centres for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
12. As a
matter of policy it should be decided that the Additional Director CGHS office
shall be situated in the respective states only. For example the newly formed
state of Andhra, there is no Additional Director CGHS office in that state and
the office in Telangana state is looking after. The Additional Director office
in Kanpur in Uttarpradesh State is looking after the CGHS Centre in Gwalior of
Madhyapradesh State. It is not out of place to mention that Kanpur is not in
direct line with Gwalior and that the travel involves many difficulties. We
desire that as a matter of policy the Additional Director office shall be in
the particular state only.
We wish
the JCM Staff Side and the NCCPA shall take up these issues also for remedial
measures at the hands of the Government and the Health Ministry. The Government
shall be reminded that while the serving employees are covered with insurance
for deaths out of covid 19, the senior citizen pensioners shall at least be
provided with adequate medical facilities in this pandemic time.
Thanking
you,
Fraternally
Yours,
Sd/-
(K.Ragavendran)
General Secretary AIPRPA
