Doctors, beware!

SAITM issue is showing its monstrous head again under the pretext of Professor Carlo Fonseka. The GMOA Secretary has announced indefinite strike if the Health Minister fails to extend Prof. Carlo Fonseka’s period as the President of Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).

The SAITM crisis has now become the talk of the town over the last few months because the GMOA is threatening every now and then to stage another countrywide strike against the SAITM issue without considering the hundreds of thousands of poor and innocent patients all over the country who have become the scapegoat in the tug of war between the government and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

It is crystal clear that appointing a suitable person to the SLMC President’s position is an absolute prerogative of the Health Minister. Besides, it is beyond the purview of GMOA to recommend someone or unnecessarily poke their nose into the SLMC appointments.

In this pathetic situation, anyone obviously tends to think that these doctors have the authority to make recommendations to the government and also demand anything from the government by this strike weapon. This is an unhealthy situation which will grow bitterness between the GMOA and the general public because this is the fifth time they have declared the strike this year.

Humanitarian and noble profession

Let me ask them a polite question from the strikers. Are these strikes against the government or general public? Why are you trying to take revenge on the innocent and underprivileged people who are always waiting at the doors of the hospitals to get medicine? As we all know the patients from throughout the country underwent untold hardships and much inconvenience during these recent strikes.

Why are these GMOA so adamant in this SAITM issue? Is this the strike to bring benefits to people or the doctors themselves? No, it’s quite clear neither the strikers nor the government will obtain benefits but apparently, this will bring huge benefits to the subversive, unscrupulous conspirators who are expecting to fulfil their narrow, mean and selfish agenda.

The doctors maintain that the SAITM falls short in fulfilling the required standard to be a medical faculty and students lack eligibility to be enrolled as medical faculty students. If so there are so many alternative ways and means to seek a sustainable solution for this issue. Why this strike? The SAITM case has a pending decision from the court as well. Moreover, the people world over believe that the medical profession is a humanitarian and noble profession.

Doctors are given their due respect because the people tend to think that they are superior people who can save lives of patients. But in reality, the doctors deviate from their basic concept and have forgotten their Hippocrates Oath that they made promises to saves lives of people. I kindly appeal to the GMOA to consider the plight of poor and helpless patients when you declare strikes. First and foremost the OPD patients are affected.

They come to the hospital from various places for consultation, clinical purposes and treatments with a great difficulty. Then the inmate patients who are already being treated. They are just stranded because of the meaningless strike. At the same time, these poor and innocent patients have no access to the private medical facilities due to their poverty.

Thus they highly depend on the government’s free medical services. So it is highly unjustifiable that the doctors, having obtained free education. To my knowledge, doctors’ strike is profoundly unacceptable.

Demand for private universities

As Sri Lanka is a developing country there is still a scarcity of doctors. Taking this fact into consideration we have to produce more and more doctors according to the demands. Further, there is a considerable amount of doctors who serve overseas. There is no harm in producing more doctors from both the state and private universities. Since we have only eight state medical faculties out of 16 national universities in our country, there is a great demand for private universities to produce more doctors who can be employable in our country or overseas. This is the modern trend in the world.

We must look at the issue in a broader, effective and efficient manner that will bring a lot of benefits to the country and people as well. I have my own experience in Oman where our Sri Lankan doctors work for Defence Ministry of Oman and draw a very attractive salary. Some of them have migrated to Australia. So be broad minded and think about our future generation too who will dominate the world market and bring in foreign currency to our country.

Hence I kindly request the GMOA to give up the ideas of strikes over and over again. Doctors know more than us. Suppose if a patient loses his or her life due to your strike, who can resuscitate him or who will compensate for their precious life? So think twice before you leap into the strike.