In a special gesture, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to grant 10 days’ special casual leave to employees undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer. The privilege would be extended every time the government servant goes for treatment.
Accepting a proposal of the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine that a leave of 10 days, starting from a day before the commencement of chemotherapy, can be granted to government employees, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms issued an order granting the special casual leave for cancer patients over and above the other leave that they are entitled to as per existing rules.
The 10 days’ duration was finalised taking into consideration the fact that the patients have to report one day prior to the commencement of chemotherapy/radiotherapy, a day’s treatment and eight days for recovery.
Employees availing such special casual leave should submit a medical certificate from the medical officer in charge of the hospital where he/she undergoes the procedure.
Deserving care
State Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said there was a long-pending demand among government employees suffering from cancer that they had to exhaust their leave and go on leave without pay during the course of treatment. “They deserve this special casual leave. Government employees are covered under a health insurance scheme that covers treatment for cancer and the insured can opt for treatment in network hospitals. We also want to change the perception that cancer means death. The fact remains that early detection of cancer is completely curable,” he told The Hindu on Monday.
In October last year, the State government classified certain diseases — chicken pox, measles, swine flu, plague and rabies — as infectious and allowed affected employees to take special casual leave ranging from seven to 10 days.
