Retired railway employees can avail of annual medical check-up

Pensioners of the Indian railway are entitled to get full medical check-up once a year, revealed chief medical superintendent (CMS) of Ferozepur division under the Right to Information Act (RTI).
The RTI was filed by a retired railway employee Sher Singh, chairman of Northern Railway Pensioners Welfare Association, as most of the retired employees were not getting proper medical check-up from health units across the state.

Singh said, “I felt the need of this information because I noticed that most of the retirees were not getting desired check-ups in absence of doctors or test laboratories or just because of ignorance about existing rules.”

“This RTI answer made it clear that all retired employees are entitled to get complete medical check-up on yearly basis and if anybody is having problem they can contact authorised medical officer,” added Singh.
He also raised a point that the Railway Act provides yearly basis medical check-up to the retired employees, but the city health unit has not much medical facilities to provide.

The hospital's tie up with a private hospital was still pending, thus in the employees receive no facilities.

According to the RTI reply, at present recognition of SPS Apollo hospital is in process at headquarter level and till this tie reaches to final stage, the employees would have to wait.

Welfare Association president Tarvinder Singh said despite the rule that medicines would be provided by the health unit there was always short supply of medicines. “This is the biggest problem faced by the pensioners,” he added.