I WOULD narrate three consultations with doctors of the medical division of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Karachi and an emergency hospitalisation just to give readers and the authorities concerned some idea about how things are being run there and to make them aware of the woes of former employees.

I visited a doctor due to fever and symptoms of flu. He immediately issued a form and sent me to a private hospital on PIA panel where no doctor was available.

The paramedical staff put me through a battery of tests and told me to wait for the results. After about four hours, without giving me the test reports, and still not letting me meet a doctor, they told me that the doctorhad seenthe reports,andI should go home as there was nothing seriously wrong with me.

I visited PIA`s medical treatment room because of a bruise on my kneecap which was taking too long to heal. The paramedics told me to see the doctor, who, without looking at the bruise, sent me to a private hospital on PIA panel for consultation, X-ray of the right knee, and dressing.

Most recently, I visited a PIA doctor because of blisters under my toes. The doctor saw a photograph of the blisters that my spouse had taken with a mobile phone camera. Again, I was issued a form in the name of a private hospital to see a dermatologist.

PIA has a large medical centre near airport with qualified and experienced doctors, paramedical staff, a wellequippe d pathological laboratory,ultrasound facility, an emergency treatment room with electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure measuring devices, first aid arrangements, beds and a well-stocked pharmacy. The X-ray section has been closed though.

On the one hand, PIA`s losses have been growing for the last more than a decade, while, on the other, instead of treating minor ailments themselves, PIA doctors are referring patients to expensive private hospitals despite having a fully equipped medical centre at their disposal.

The result of such wasteful spending, unfortunately, has serious financial repercussions on employees in emergency situations. One tale would suffice.

On June 30, 2020, the doctor issued me a form for chest X-ray on suspicion of Covid.

The private hospital denied service because PIA had not paid its outstanding bill. Rejection of PIA form is a frequent occurrence. Why do PIA doctors issue forms for hospitals that do not accept them because PIA is defaulting on payments? It was already well after office hours so I returned home and took some tablets for fever and body-aches. By late night my fever shot up and I became delirious. My family called an ambulance and rushed me to the only private hospital that was accepting Covid patients, but it was not on PIA panel.

The 10-day stay there cost me an amount equivalent to five years of my pension. The bill has not been reimbursed as I did not have prior approval for hospitalisation.

PIA is not providing us the medical service it should, while their lack of payment to panel hospitals means that we cannot get treatment there either. At the very least, should they not reimburse the amount I had to spend on a life-saving treatment at a non-panel facility? All dates and details are duly noted in my medical record book.

Asiffah Karachi