Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Docs going ahead with strike tomorrow
By Damitha Hemachandra
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Government Medical Officers' Association yesterday vowed to go ahead with the countrywide strike action tomorrow charging that the Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Medical Council had failed to respond positively to its demands.
However it said hospitals in the tsunami hit areas would not be affected by the strike.
GMOA spokesman Anuruddha Padeniya said they had protested against the registration of Assistant and Registered Medical Officers as medical practitioners based on a highly questionable medical diploma granted by a Russian University.
The GMOA has also formed a joint forum with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), Independent Medical Practitioners' Association (IMPA), all colleges, medical academics and student unions of all medical colleges to deal with the 'crisis situation' in the medical field.
The Joint Forum recently wrote to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva seeking their intervention to suspend the functions of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and the appointment of a committee to investigate into the present 'crisis, which had arisen with the SLMC registering a batch of Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs), who were claiming to hold a three-year Russian MD diploma'. Dr.Padeniya raised doubts over the authenticity of the MD diploma since he claimed that the batch of RMOs had been in Russia only for six months.
The GMOA also called for a separate medical council for Medical Practitioners and Medical Specialists as in other countries, where the responsibilities and qualifications of a medical officer and a specialist is defined through an act.
"The RMOs and AMOs had reached their present status not through qualification but through political influence," Dr. Padeniya said adding that by registering unqualified individuals as medical practitioners, the SLMC was jeopardising the safety of the public.
The joint Forum also said though the SLMC was responsible for registering individuals with necessary qualifications and adequate training and monitoring whether they were up to the required standard within a professional framework, its credibility was now questionable.
SLMC Officials said they were helpless at the moment since they had been ordered to abide by the technical procedure by the Supreme Court.
However the GMOA members will resign from the SLMC membership tomorrow as it sees the SLMC is not acting to its fullest capacity to ensure quality in the medical service, Dr. Padeniya said.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2005/01/24/front/02.asp
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Government Medical Officers' Association yesterday vowed to go ahead with the countrywide strike action tomorrow charging that the Health Ministry and the Sri Lanka Medical Council had failed to respond positively to its demands.
However it said hospitals in the tsunami hit areas would not be affected by the strike.
GMOA spokesman Anuruddha Padeniya said they had protested against the registration of Assistant and Registered Medical Officers as medical practitioners based on a highly questionable medical diploma granted by a Russian University.
The GMOA has also formed a joint forum with the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA), Independent Medical Practitioners' Association (IMPA), all colleges, medical academics and student unions of all medical colleges to deal with the 'crisis situation' in the medical field.
The Joint Forum recently wrote to President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva seeking their intervention to suspend the functions of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and the appointment of a committee to investigate into the present 'crisis, which had arisen with the SLMC registering a batch of Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs), who were claiming to hold a three-year Russian MD diploma'. Dr.Padeniya raised doubts over the authenticity of the MD diploma since he claimed that the batch of RMOs had been in Russia only for six months.
The GMOA also called for a separate medical council for Medical Practitioners and Medical Specialists as in other countries, where the responsibilities and qualifications of a medical officer and a specialist is defined through an act.
"The RMOs and AMOs had reached their present status not through qualification but through political influence," Dr. Padeniya said adding that by registering unqualified individuals as medical practitioners, the SLMC was jeopardising the safety of the public.
The joint Forum also said though the SLMC was responsible for registering individuals with necessary qualifications and adequate training and monitoring whether they were up to the required standard within a professional framework, its credibility was now questionable.
SLMC Officials said they were helpless at the moment since they had been ordered to abide by the technical procedure by the Supreme Court.
However the GMOA members will resign from the SLMC membership tomorrow as it sees the SLMC is not acting to its fullest capacity to ensure quality in the medical service, Dr. Padeniya said.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/2005/01/24/front/02.asp
