The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) announced at a media briefing today (23) that it plans to hold an island-wide strike from 8 am on Monday (25) in response to several demands.
They announced this in a press release signed by Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa, Secretary of the association.
They state that the Ministry of Health, instead of protecting doctors in the country’s health system, is following a policy of expelling doctors, which risks worsening the shortage of doctors.
English translation of the statement:
Due to the economic and political instability that prevailed in the past, more than 2,500 specialists and doctors have left the country’s health system and gone abroad, and there has been no significant decrease in that trend so far.
The shortage of specialists and doctors has led to a number of serious challenges in the provision of health services in the country’s hospital system.
Although the Government Medical Officers’ Association has on several occasions provided proposals to the Ministry of Health for a program that would encourage doctors to stay in the country by providing economic justice and fairness to doctors and creating a good professional environment, and has also provided the necessary support, it is unfortunate that the Ministry of Health has not yet launched a permanent program to protect or safeguard doctors.
Due to the short-sighted and inefficient program of the Ministry of Health, the country is losing specialists and doctors day by day. Although protecting specialists and doctors is a priority policy of the government and the Minister of Health, the policy of the Ministry of Health has become not to protect doctors but to drive them away.
It is the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Health not only to protect doctors but also to create a safe professional environment for doctors who make sacrifices and provide services within the state health service and to provide legal protection related to the provision of services.
However, the Ministry of Health has failed to fulfill that responsibility as well.
Even after the unfortunate incident that befell a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Hospital, a specific national program to ensure safety in the hospital system has not yet been announced. This is confirmed again through the recent incidents that have occurred at several places such as the Jaffna Thelippalai Base Hospital, the Akkarepattu Base Hospital, the Dambana Hospital, etc.
Despite the shortage of medicines and equipment in the hospital system, specialists and doctors have adopted a method of obtaining medicines from outside, albeit at a risk, in order to maintain patient care services. However, due to the recent investigations, legal issues and media use, doctors have had to think twice about issuing medical recommendations to obtain medicines and equipment from outside.
The circular issued in a hurry by the Ministry of Health for this purpose is just a document with a number of shortcomings that cannot be implemented in practice.
The Ministry of Health has not yet announced any effective program to provide legal protection to specialists and doctors, the most valuable human resources in the health system, in providing services. As a result, a number of specialists have left the service or have decided to leave.
Thousands of doctors have been affected by the irregularities and inefficient work carried out by the Ministry of Health in the medical transfer process. Due to the irregularities and delays in the process of preparing the vacancy list for placement of post-internship doctors, a large number of newly affected doctors have been forced to reconsider their stay in the health system of this country.
Despite the fact that it has been proven time and again throughout history that it is impossible to forcibly retain doctors in the country through laws, circulars or threats, the Secretary to the Ministry of Health has once again issued a circular last week blocking doctors from taking foreign leave.
It is ridiculous that the Ministry of Health, which has been following a policy of blocking appointments even to doctors who have returned to the country after having gone abroad, is also following a policy of blocking doctors who go abroad with the hope of returning to Sri Lanka after serving for a period of time.
Through a circular issued in 2022, public servants including doctors were given the opportunity to take foreign leave and work for up to five years before rejoining the service. The aim was to get the services of those doctors back into the country’s public health service and also earn foreign exchange. But suddenly the Secretary to the Ministry of Health has issued another circular canceling that circular.
Without a program to encourage doctors to stay in the country, the issuance of such arbitrary circulars will result in the permanent loss of those specialists and doctors to the country.
The Executive Council of the Government Medical Officers’ Association has drawn close attention to this circular of the Ministry of Health, which is based on contradictory policies, and is scheduled to inform the Secretary to the Ministry of Health in writing in this regard.
Although the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Health is to protect the free health service in Sri Lanka, it is our observation that the officials of the Ministry of Health are currently acting in a completely contradictory policy. Although the current government and the Minister of Health have stated that it is their policy to strengthen the free health service by solving the problems in the health service, the officials of the Ministry of Health are acting on a completely opposite policy.
Despite being given ample opportunities and time to solve the problems faced by the health system, the Government Medical Officers’ Association has been forced to take professional action against the short-sighted, indifferent and inefficient actions of the Ministry of Health authorities who are unable to take the right decisions to protect the doctors and the health system.
Accordingly, an island-wide strike is scheduled to commence on Monday, August 25th, starting at 8 am, against the actions of the Ministry of Health authorities who are depriving the country of free health service based on the following demands.
- To publish the revised list of vacancies for placement of post-intern doctors with the approval of the Transfer Board and to correct the title of the cover letter as Post-internship Placement.
- To remove the list of difficult duty stations that were cut without the approval of the Transfer Board and instead add the previous list of difficult duty stations with the approval of the Transfer Board to the list of post-intern doctors and provide an opportunity for those doctors to apply.
- To re-add the 78 vacancies that were arbitrarily and illegally removed from the 2025 annual transfer list of grade medical officers and re-publish the said transfer list.
- To conduct an impartial investigation into the officers of the Acting Deputy Director General, Medical Services – II and the Director, Medical Services, who acted arbitrarily and illegally, disregarding the instructions of higher officials, including the Minister of Health, and creating a crisis in the medical transfer process and the health system.
The Government Officers’ Association will discuss the future decisions of the industrial action and the strike at the emergency central committee meeting to be held on that day.
The innocent sick people of this country will ultimately suffer due to this short-sighted, inefficient and incompetent program of the Ministry of Health, and the officials of the Ministry of Health will have to answer directly to the people in the near future.