The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

HEALTH

Endless queues, truant doctors,
no drugs – That’s the ESI story
R. D. Sapra

Sonepat, January 24
The Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme is meant to provide medical care and cash benefit to organised workers in case of illness, accident and death. It is a scheme that draws its revenue largely from contributions made by both the employees and the employers for the benefit of the employees working in industrial units.

This then naturally conjures up the rosy picture that if a person registered with the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and also mandatorily contributing to it from his salary falls ill he would be ensured proper medical care or benefits, if necessary. But the reality is otherwise, going by the experience of several ESI scheme registrants.

ESI scheme users’ complaints range from total apathy at the hands of the staff at the ESI dispensaries and hospitals, poor diagnostic service at the dispensaries, non-availability of even common drugs, long waiting spells to unusual delays in reimbursement of money spent on treatment from outside.

“The service in the dispensary is so shoddy that when the patient does not get well even after a few visits to the dispensary he has no choice but to seek private medical assistance. This is specially so in the case of an emergency.

What is worse is that reimbursement at times takes several weeks,” said an ESI registrant. The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), which runs the scheme, is an autonomous body. The scheme was started in the early 1950s to provide medical care and protection against losses of wages to the workers registered with it during illness, maternity period, any injuries suffered at the workplace and death. Under this it was mandatory for all organised labour to be registered when more than 10 workers using power or more than 20 not using power were employed. The revenue for the scheme came from the contributions of employees and employers. Workers drawing up to Rs 3,000 a month (including conveyance and overtime) were covered by the ESI.

The monthly monetary contribution deductible at source was 1.5 per cent of the total wages of the employee (excluding conveyance) and the employer’s contribution was four per cent of the same wages. This was deposited by the employer with the ESIC for each of its worker registered for the scheme. The ESI has three dispensaries at one place in this city but there is no emergency centre in them.

However, diagnostic facilities are available but with most of the doctors being women the male workers registered under this scheme are reluctant to be diagnosed by them. They prefer getting treatment from private nursing homes or private clinics. As a result, the number of patients is decreasing with each passing day in these dispensaries.

Each dispensary covers more than 1,500 persons, depending on which area it is situated in. Generally, a dispensary is headed by one medical officer, who is the in-charge, and two other doctors, one for the morning shift and the other for the evening shift. But these doctors invariably play truant in the absence of any check by the high-ups. The person registered is issued a card and a corresponding card is sent to the dispensary concerned. Each person is allotted a dispensary keeping in mind the option sought by him or the proximity of the dispensary to his residence or place of work. In case of emergency he may go to the hospital.

For super-speciality medical assistance, the ESI generally refers cases either to the Civil Hospital, Sonepat, or the PGI, Rohtak.

The ESI beneficiaries have their share of problems. A major grouse that the ESI registrants have against the scheme is the sudden swing in its policy relating to sickness benefit. According to the amendment made to the Act in 1989, any person on paid leave or strike would not be entitled to sickness benefit. Earlier, the registrant could draw sickness benefit even if he were on paid leave from his place of work. Workers registered with the ESI complain and not unjustifiably so that if they are put to immense inconvenience in using these dispensaries or availing of benefits then what is the rationale for their contributing and also their employers’ specific sums given every month.

“The conditions in the dispensaries are found appallingly wanting. We have to ultimately go to a government hospital or arrange money for private treatment. What, then, is the use of the ESI? One feels so cut up to think that a chunk of our hard-earned salary is cut for contributing to the ESI and we get little in return for it,” said some of the ESI registrants.

In the dispensaries the conditions are akin to any government-run hospital. A person has to queue up for seeing the doctor and then queue up again for getting medicines. At times, medicines are not available. Then again, one has to get the medicines privately and later seek reimbursement against the bill from the ESIC, a procedure which can take some time. ESI registrants also stated that the general attitude of doctors and other medical personnel in the dispensaries was one of complete apathy. What made matters worse was the long distance the persons had to travel to reach these dispensaries.

The ESI officials hotly deny that most of these complaints exist. But a visit to these dispensaries and the travails narrated by a large number of ESI users indicate otherwise.

To make the ESI scheme beneficial, the way it was meant to be, some replanning and reorganising efforts need to be undertaken. Simply negating the lacunae in the ESI scheme would be tantamount to a great disservice to the lakhs of registrants.

SPORTS

RDSO ride past Rly Board
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, January 24
RDSO scored an emphatic 8-1 victory against Railway Board in a Group A match of the PNB-All India Railway Hockey Tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Friday. Mohd Shahid scored the first goal in the very first minute and also added the third goal. Manoj Kumar, Z Hassan and Vijay Singh also scored a brace each. Dinesh Thakur scored the consolation goal for Railway Board, which had, in fact, come in the fifth minute to tie the score 1-1. But RDSO scored two more goals before the interval and then went on a goal rush in the second half.

In a Group C men’s match, North Eastern Railway defeated CLW 3-1. Vinay Gethe, Deepak Gupta and S Minz were the winners’ marksmen. Anil Toppo pulled off the lone goal for CLW.

In a women’s match, Central Railway stream rolled past Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala 3-0. Kanti Baa scored two goals and Muktu Guria accounted for the other goal.

15 countries say ‘yes’ to YMCA boxing
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, January 24
India, along with 15 foreign countries, have confirmed their participation in the eighth YMCA International Boxing Championship to be held at the YMCA rings, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi from February 4 to 8. The event is recognised by the International Amateur Boxing Federation.

The foreign countries who have confirmed their participation are: England, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Jordan, Seychelles, Russia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Qatar, Mauritius and Thailand.

Sabharwal shines: A fine all-round performance by Rajat Sabharwal (63 and 2 for 15) enabled ESPN defeat Clintus by four wickets in a limited-over match at the Harbaksh Singh Stadium. Scores: Clintus: 122 for 9 in 20 overs ESPN: 123 for 6 in 18.5 overs.

Dogra to meet I G Stadium in final
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, January 24
East Point Sumit Dogra Academy will take on Indira Gandhi Stadium in the final of the third Shakuntala Devi Memorial Under-19 Cricket Tournament at the East Point School ground on Saturday. In the semi-final matches, Sumit Dogra Academy defeated Pahari Dhiraj Academy by seven wickets while Indira Gandhi Stadium beat Lal Bahadur Shastri Club by 95 runs.

Scores: Pahari Dhiraj Academy: 163 for 9 in 40 overs (Sourabh Negi 33, Raman Gujral 30, Yogesh Virmani 4 for 36, Aman Arora 2 for 33). Sumit Dogra Academy: 168 for 3 in 33.1 overs (Adityaima 42, Sunil Kashyap 41 no, Mayank Sethi 34, Shubhankar Patra 2 for 36). I G Stadium: 202 all out in 39.4 overs (Farman Ahmad 72, Kuldeep Bhardwaj 31, Sumit Rana 3 for 24, Maninder Singh 3 for 29). Lal Bahadur Shastri Club: 107 all out in 23.4 overs (Sumit Rana 27, Rohit Sharma 23, Farman Ahmad 5 for 16, Sandeep Negi 4 for 29).

Modern record win

Modern School, Barakhamba Road routed Manavsthali School by 73 runs in a league match of the sixth Rohtak Road Gymkhana R P Jain Inter-School Under-15 Cricket Tournament at the Bharat Nagar ground.

Scores: Modern School: 229 for 4 in 40 overs (Karan Rai 72, Jagriti Anand 50 no). Manavsthali: 156 all out in 34.1 overs.