I. Rules relating to Medical Attendance and Treatment          

Rule I : All employees irrespective of their class, category or pay and their families as defined below shall be entitled to medical attendance and treatment free of charge at Port Trust dispensaries.

Note : (a) "For the purpose of this Rule, "employees" shall not include persons employed by or through contractors or `C’ Category Mazdoors employed in the Docks or Apprentices."

(b) An employee’s family shall include (Should be residing with and wholly dependant on 'the employee' )  :

Explanation :

(1) An employee’s wife, if she is herself employed in a Department either of the Central or State Government or in a Corporation/Undertaking, financed partly or wholly by the Central or a State Government or in a Local Body or a private organisation, which provides medical services to its employees and the eligible children of such an employee would be entitled to choose either the facilities admissible under these Rules or the medical facilities provided by the organisation in which she is employed. In case she and/ or the eligible children avails/avail herself/themselves of the facilities provided for in these Rules, the employee, who claims reimbursement, should furnish a declaration that no claim is being made for the reimbursement of the same medical expenses from any other source.

(2) In a case where both husband and wife are Port Trust employees, the wife, as well as the eligible children, may be allowed to avail themselves of the medical concessions provided for in these Rules according to his/her status.

(c) By "medical attendance" is meant the examination of an employee or a member of his family, for the diagnosis of his illness, by the Medical Officer or the Asstt. Medical Officer in charge of , or attached to, a dispensary including Pathological, Bacteriological, Radiological or any other method of examination which the Medical Officer or the Asstt. Medical Officer may consider necessary, to the extent that the equipment and facilities for carrying out such examination are available at the dispensary. It may also include a further examination by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer in cases in which the Medical Officer or the Asstt. Medical Officer may consider it necessary or advisable to consult the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer.

(d) By "treatment" is meant the tendering of necessary medical advice and the supply of such medicines, vaccines, sera, injectiles or other therapeutic substances as may be available at the dispensary from time to time. It includes, in surgical cases, such operations as may conveniently be performed by the Medical Officer or the Asstt. Medical Officer with the appliances, instruments, etc., at his disposal at the dispensary and the post operative care and treatment for which facilities may exist at the dispensary.

(e) In the event of the death of an employee while in service, a member of his family undergoing treatment at any of the Port Trust dispensaries at time of death of the employee may continue to receive the treatment at the dispensary for a period not exceeding three months from the date of death of the employee on the same terms and conditions as applicable to him immediately before the death of the employee.

Rule II : (a) Each dispensary shall be provided, for the purpose of the medical attendance and treatment referred to in the above Rule, with such instruments, appliances, equipment, plant, etc., as may be approved by the Board on the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officer. No charge shall be levied for the use of any such instruments, appliances, equipment, plant, etc. in the case of Port Trust employees and their families. The list of medicines, vaccines, sera, injectiles, etc. to be stocked in each dispensary and supplied free to Port Trust employees and their families, shall be prepared and revised from time to time by the Chief Medical Officer and a copy of the up-to-date list shall be displayed on the Notice Board of the dispensary.

(b) If any medicines, vaccines, sera, injectiles or other therapeutical substances not included in the above list are required in a particular case, the same shall be purchased by the employee at his own cost and he shall subsequently be reimbursed by the Administration the cost involved, subject to the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer furnishing a certificate in the form prescribed in Annexure `A’ to these Rules.

Note : An employee shall not be entitled to any payment from the Administration under this Rule in respect of preparations which are not medicines, but are in the nature of foods, tonics, toilet preparations or disinfectants.

Rule III : (a) A list of Port Trust dispensaries is given in Annexure `B’ to these Rules. The list may be altered or added to from time to time with the approval of the Board.

(b) The days of the week on which and the hours during which each dispensary shall be open for providing the medical attendance and treatment mentioned in Rule I shall be fixed by the Chief Medical Officer from time to time. Necessary arrangements shall, however, be made for attending to emergency cases outside the hours so fixed at such dispensaries as may be decided by the Chief Medical Officer.

Rule IV : A Port Trust employee who, due to the severity of his illness, is unable to come personally to a Port Trust dispensary for the necessary medical attendance and treatment, may request the Medical Officer in charge of, or attached to, the dispensary nearest to his residence or, if the employee is on an "authorised" scale of pay rising to over Rs.575 per month, the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer, to attend on him at his residence. The Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer, so requested shall call on the ailing employee as soon as it is possible for him to do so. No fees or other charges shall be payable to the Port Trust Doctors for such visits.

Rule V : (a) It shall be open to a Port Trust employee to request the Medical Officer in charge of, or attached to, the dispensary nearest to his residence to visit the residence for the treatment of a sick member of his family who is too ill to come personally to a Port Trust dispensary for the necessary medical attendance and treatment. If the Medical Officer so requested is satisfied that the patient is really too ill to come personally to the dispensary, he shall call at the residence of the employee as soon as it is possible for him to do so. Same as provided in the exception below, the Medical Officers shall be entitled to recover fees for such visits from the employees concerned on the following scale :

(1) Employees whose basic pay exceed Rs.200 per month     :     Rs.3 per visit

(2) Employees whose basic pay  is Rs.200 or under                 :      Rs.2 per visit

No separate conveyance charges shall be payable by the employees concerned to the Medical Officers for such visits.

Exception : Employees, who are on "authorised" scale of pay of which the maximum is Rs.110, or less, and who reside in Port Trust quarters, shall not be liable to pay fees under this Rule.

(b) An employee who is on an "authorised" scale of pay the maximum of which exceeds Rs.575 may also call the Assistant Chief Medical Officer to his residence for examining and advising on the treatment of a sick member of his family. The Assistant Chief Medical Officer (full time) shall be entitled to recover fees for such visits from the employees concerned at the rate of Rs.7 per visit. The part-time Assistant Chief Medical Officer shall be entitled to charge fees for such visits at the rate of Rs.20 per visit, of which Rs.7 shall be paid by the employee and Rs.13 by the Administration. No separate conveyance shall be payable to the Assistant Chief Medical Officer for such visits either by the employee or by the Administration.

Note : (1) The right of calling to his residence a Medical Officer or the Assistant Chief Medical Officer under Rules IV and V above is not available to an employee living beyond Jogeshwari or Bhandup.

(2) In all cases of minor ailments or where they are not too ill to travel, the patients must personally attend at a dispensary for the necessary Medical attendance and treatment.

Rule VI : Medicines, injectiles, etc., prescribed by a Port Trust doctor during his visit to an employee’s residence under Rule IV or V above, shall if available at any of the Port Trust dispensaries, be supplied free of charge. If any medicines, injectiles, etc. prescribed by a Port Trust doctor during such a visit to an employee’s residence, are not available at any of the Port Trust dispensaries, the same shall be purchased by the employee at his own cost and he shall subsequently be reimbursed by the Administration the cost involved, subject to the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer furnishing a certificate in the form prescribed in Annexure `A’ to these Rules.

Rule VII : (a) If the Port Trust doctor attending on an employee or a member of an employee’s family is of the opinion that the case of the patient is of such a serious or special nature as to require consultation with or attendance by a Specialist or Consultant, he may, with the approval of the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer send the patient to the Specialist or if the patient is too ill to travel, arrange with the Specialist or Consultant for the latter to attend on the patient at his residence.

(b) The fees of the Specialist or Consultant shall be paid by the Port Trust in full where the patient is an employee and to the extent of two-thirds where the patient is a member of an employee’s family.

Provided that in the case of a member of the family of an employee suspected to be suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, the fees of such specialist or consultant for taking out X-Rays shall be paid by the Port Trust in full.

Note : (1) Consultation with an Eye Specialist shall be admissible under this Rule but while the fees of such a Specialist shall be payable by the Port Trust in full or to the extent of two-thirds as the case may be, the cost of glasses shall be borne in either case by the employee himself.

(2) Medicines, injectiles, etc., prescribed by the Specialist, shall, if available at any of the Port Trust dispensaries, be supplied free of charge. If any such medicines, injectiles, etc., are not available at any of the Port Trust dispensaries, the same shall be purchased by the employee at his own cost and he shall subsequently be reimbursed by the Administration the cost involved, subject to the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer furnishing a certificate in the form prescribed in Annexure `A’ to these Rules.

Rule VIII : An employee, who lives beyond Bhandup or Jogeshwari, or an ailing member of such an employee’s family, who is too ill to come personally to a Port Trust dispensary for the necessary medical attendance and treatment may, with the approval of the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer place himself under the treatment of a local Medical Practitioner and the full cost in the case of the employee himself or one-half of the cost in the case of a member of the employee’s family of such treatment including the cost of medicines, injectiles, etc., shall be reimbursed to the employee by the Financial Adviser & Chief Accounts Officer on production of a bill countersigned by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer. The approval to treatment at the hands of a local Medical Practitioner, in the circumstances mentioned above, shall not be accorded by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer unless he is reasonably satisfied about the genuineness of the case. Also the approval shall be withheld in cases in which the Chief Medical officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer is of the opinion that the employee, or the member of his family, should seek admission as an in-patient to a Government or Municipal Hospital in Bombay. In such cases, the hospital charges shall be payable by the Port Trust on the same scale and subject to the same conditions as are prescribed in Rule IX below.

Rule IX : An employee or a member of his family suffering from an illness for which facilities for proper diagnosis or suitable treatment are not available at any of the Port Trust dispensaries or cannot be provided by the Port Trust Medical Department, shall be entitled to seek the necessary attendance and treatment as either an out-patient or an in-patient at a Government or Municipal Hospital in Bombay and provided that the approval of the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer is obtained, the hospital fees and charges shall in such a case be borne by the Port Trust in full.

Note : (1) The liability of the Port Trust to reimburse employees, undergoing treatment at a Government or Municipal Hospital, their expenses to the extent mentioned in this Rule, will be limited to the fees and charges levied by the Hospital for medical attendance, routine medicines, laboratory and other investigations, x-ray examinations and surgical operations and also, in the case of in-patient, the charges levied for normal nursing but not for diet, unless the patient undergoing such treatment is an employee, or is a member of the family of an employee, drawing a monthly pay of not exceeding Rs.180. The cost of special nursing, tonics and restorative and also, in the case of employees in receipt of a monthly pay exceeding Rs.180, of diet shall be borne by the employee himself. If, in connection with such hospital treatment, an employee is required to purchase any medicines, injectiles, etc., which are not available at the hospital, he shall be reimbursed the cost of such medicines, injectiles, etc., subject to his producing a certificate duly signed by the Medical Officer in charge of the case and countersigned by the Port Trust Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer, that the medicines, injectiles, etc., in question, were essentially required for the treatment of the patient.

(2) The hospital treatment referred to in the above Rule, shall not include treatment undergone in a private hospital or nursing home, a nursing home attached to a Government or Public Hospital, or treatment for child-birth nor shall it include treatment in a sanitorium for tubercular patients or other specialised institutions, except those referred to in the following Notes. It shall, however, include antirabic treatment undergone at the Haffkine Institute, Bombay, treatment for an infectious disease at the City Fever Hospital or treatment for eye diseases at a Government or Municipal Eye Hospital. (In the case of treatment at a Government or Municipal Eye Hospital, the cost of glasses, if any, supplied by the Hospital authorities as part of the treatment shall be borne by the employee himself).

(3) The Hospital treatment, referred to in the above Rule, shall include treatment for cancer at the Tata Memorial Hospital, if in the opinion of any surgeon of the Hospital, hospitalisation is absolutely necessary. For this purpose, all cases of cancer should first be referred to the out-patients Department for a private consultation with any of the Surgeons of the Hospital, the relative fees being reimbursed to the employee in accordance with Rule VII.

(4) The Hospital treatment referred to in the above Rule shall also include treatment for mental diseases, at the N.M. Mental Hospital, Thane, subject to the condition that the treatment for which reimbursement of medical expenses will be admissible in terms of the above Rule shall not exceed six months, unless the Medical Superintendent of the Mental Hospital certifies that treatment for a reasonable period, upto six months, beyond the initial six months’ limit, is likely to lead to complete recovery of the patient. Further notwithstanding the provisions of Note (1) above, the reimbursement of diet charges in the case of patients suffering from mental diseases and undergoing treatment in the Mental Hospital as in-patients, will be allowed, in full, if the employee is in receipt of pay not exceeding Rs.380 p.m. in an "authorised" scale. In the case of employees in receipt of a pay exceeding Rs.380 p.m. in an "authorised" scale, 20% of the hospitalisation charges will be reckoned as diet charges and will not be reimbursed.

(5) In the event of the death of an employee while in service a member of his family, undergoing treatment in terms of the above Rule at the time of the death of the employee may continue to receive the treatment for a period not exceeding three months from the date of death of the employee on the same terms and conditions as provided for in the above Rule.

Rule X : In according his approval, under Rule IX above, to an employee undergoing treatment at a hospital in which different classes of accommodation are provided, the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Office shall indicate the particular class to which the employee should seek admission. It will be open to the employee to seek admission to a higher class but in such a case, the reimbursement for hospital fees and charges will be made on the basis of the class approved by the Chief Medical Officer.

Rule XI : The bill of the hospital in the cases mentioned in Rule IX above, shall be sent by the employee to the Chief Medical Officer who shall scrutinise it, certify thereon the amount payable by the Port Trust and forward the same to the Financial Adviser & Chief Accounts Officer for payment. In scrutinising such bills, the Chief Medical Officer shall have the power to disallow any items which he may consider as falling under the category of special nursing, extra diet, tonics, restoratives, etc.

Rule XII : If in the opinion of the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer it is necessary for an employee or a member of his family to be admitted to a private hospital or nursing home or a nursing home attached to a Government or Public Hospital, he may send the patient to such private hospital or nursing home and the Port Trust shall pay two-thirds of the cost of such treatment. In such a case, the patient shall be attended on from day to day either by the Chief Medical Officer or by one of his Assistants as may be decided by the Chief Medical Officer. Except as provided in the note below this Rule, no fees or conveyance charges shall be payable to the Chief Medical Officer or any of his Assistants for attending on employees or members of their families undergoing treatment at such a private hospital or nursing home. Should consultation with a Specialist be considered necessary by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer in such a case, he shall arrange for such consultation and the fees of the Consultant or Specialist shall be payable to the extent of two-thirds by the Port Trust the balance being paid by the employee himself. Similarly, should it be necessary to summon a Surgeon and an Anaesthetist to perform an operation on the patient, the fees of such Surgeon and Anaesthetist together with the incidental expenses including charges levied by the private hospital or nursing home for the use of its operation theatre shall be borne by the Port Trust and the employee in the ratio of two to one. The cost of special nursing, special diet, tonics and restoratives shall, however, be borne fully by the employee himself.

Note : "In the event of the death of an employee while in service, a member of his family undergoing treatment in terms of the above Rule at the time of the death of the employee, may continue to receive the treatment for a period of three months from the date of death of the employee on the same terms and conditions as provided for in the above Rule."

Rule XIII : An employee who receives, while on duty, an injury of a nature requiring immediate attention at a hospital shall be entitled to proceed to any Government, or Public Hospital in Bombay for necessary treatment and the cost of such treatment shall be borne by the Port Trust subject to certification by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer.

Rule XIV : In cases in which an employee receives, while on duty, an injury of such a nature as calls for an X-Ray or other special examination by or consultation with an outside Medical Practitioner or Specialist, arrangements may be made for such examination or consultation and the fees and charges therefor shall be payable by the Port Trust subject to certification by the Chief Medical Officer or the Asstt. Chief Medical Officer.

Rule XV : Arrangements have been made for dental treatment for Port Trust employees in Bombay with the Government Dental College and Hospital and all employees shall be entitled to the above treatment subject to compliance with such rules and regulations as may be framed in that regard from time to time. Subject likewise to the above rules and regulations, these facilities can also be availed of by the family of a Port Trust employee.

Rule XVI : "Where a Port Trust employee loses a limb as a result of accident in the course of his duty, whether he is paid any compensation or not under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 (8 of 1923) or any other law or rules, (and whether he is retained in service or not after the accident) he shall be supplied by the Port Trust with an artificial limb."

Rule XVII : An employee, who takes ill suddenly or receives an injury while on duty and his condition renders it impossible or risky for him to travel on his own to a Port Trust dispensary or a Government or Public Hospital or to his house, shall be provided with the required conveyance at the cost of the Port Trust. If a Port Trust vehicle is used for the purpose, necessary remarks shall be made in the log book of the vehicle. If a taxicab or other public conveyance is used, the cost shall be reimbursed by the Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer, subject to certification by the officer under whom the employee was working at the time.

Rule XVIII : A Port Trust employee on leave of any kind shall be eligible for the same medical assistance for himself and members of his family as would be admissible if the employees were on duty.

Note : The Bombay Port Trust Employees (Medical Attendance & Treatment) Regulations, 1976, sanctioned by the Trustees under TR No.141 of 1976 are not sanctioned by Government as yet.