In ITIC’s latest Industry Insights interview, we have a quick update from Dr Kimberley Chawla, Medical Director of East West Rescue, who has been working directly with Covid patients for WHO and UN agencies in India and gives us a quick look at her day.
At a time when connecting face-to-face isn’t as simple as we are used to, we have been taking the opportunity to catch up with members of our ITIC community, to find out how they are navigating the current crisis. You can read our previous interviews with Eva Kluge, Dexter Tan, Carlos Salinas, Bettina Vadera, Women in Travel Insurance (WITI) Manjit Rana, Amy Villalobos and Volker Lemke
Q: How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your work to date?
Officially the lockdown and curfew made it very difficult for medical care to be accessed for patients and our clients insured’s. For instance, ambulances, which in pre-covid times would be arranged without any difficulty, became very difficult during covid and when we had a lockdown and the curfew.
We had to get written permission from the police, from the district magistrate, and also if it was a foreign national. We had to get a safe passage declaration from the embassy or high commission.
Q: Looking ahead to a time when we can meet face-to-face once again, can you tell us what you enjoy most about the International Travel & Health Insurance Conferences?
I enjoy meeting with friends and colleagues at ITIC. I also appreciate and thoroughly enjoy the Medical Directors Forum, the Air Ambulance and Medical Assistance Forum.
I think it’s a good platform to make new friendships and forge new relationships and working relationships. And of course, Ian is one of the highlights, perhaps the main highlight.
Stay safe everyone.
Dr Kimberley Chawla – Medical Director, East West Rescue
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