Workers worried over waiver of referral facility at ESIC clinics

Srikakulam: Various industries and establishments workers and employees are in worry over waiver of referral facility of patients to local hospitals through Employee state insurance corporation (ESIC) hospitals in Srikakulam. The government issued an order with number 1907 / BLR/ 2018 regarding reference patients to local and other ESIC hospitals in Visakhapatnam from Srikakulam.

According to the order only emergency cases need to refer local private hospitals from ESIC clinics and all other secondary care required cases which are non-emergency should refer to ESIC hospital in Visakhapatnam instead of local private hospitals in Srikakulam. The aim of the government in issuing the order with number 1907 / BLR/ 2018 to reduce expenditure on medical care of industrial workers and employees to avoid payment of bills to private hospitals.

As super specialty treatment is available at ESIC hospital in Visakhapatnam government is thinking that no need to pay bills to private hospitals in Srikakulam every year. Due to lack of facility at ESIC clinics in Srikakulam district local doctors are referring cases to local private hospitals. But workers of all industries and establishments opposed it and demanding government to cancel the order and refer the cases locally.

“With the government recent order a worker or his family members need to go Visakhapatnam for small and minor treatment which is more burden on them” CITU state vice president, Duppala Govinda Rao explained. We are demanding to cancel the order in the interest of workers to save their time and money he added.

“To save unnecessary expenditure in the name of private hospital bills government issued order with number 1907 / BLR/ 2018 by waiving referral facility to private hospitals in non-emergency cases only” ESIC state director, B.RamaKoti explained to The Hans India.