Medical & Dental Entitlements
Your right to medical and dental treatment as a Gambian civil servant — the Medical Insurance Scheme, how to report sickness, the Medical Board process (convening, reporting, confidentiality), overseas treatment entitlements, and the rule that neither the PMO nor the PSC can override Medical Board findings.
Chapter 8 of the General Orders governs medical and dental treatment. GO 08101 defines key terms: a Medical Board normally consists of two Medical Officers convened by the Director of Health Services to determine an officer's fitness. GO 08102 establishes that a Medical Insurance Scheme is provided for all permanent employees. Where a Medical Board recommends treatment unavailable in The Gambia and Government accepts, all expenses and passages are borne by Government per the insurance scheme terms (GO 08103). A Medical Officer places an officer on the sick list regardless of whether the officer reported sickness themselves (GO 08104). Officers must inform their Head of Department of sickness and inability to attend within one week (GO 08105). On Medical Boards: the attending Medical Officer provides a full case report (GO 08201). The Board's report and recommendations are confidential, submitted in triplicate to the Director of Health Services, who either approves or convenes a further Board as a member (GO 08202). Approved reports go to the PS-PMO with recommendations, with one copy to the PSC (GO 08203). Critically, neither the PS-PMO nor the PSC may vary Medical Board findings (GO 08204) — this protects officers from administrative override of medical determinations. No additional copies of reports may be made beyond those authorised (GO 08205).
Chapter 12 of the PPM addresses medical treatment as an operational personnel function. Public officers are eligible for medical treatment at Government Health Centres, subject to prescribed fees. Officers who become ill should report to a Government Medical Officer, who may authorise absence from work. The PPM also covers the administrative procedures for processing medical claims and maintaining health records in personnel files.