Conflicting statements about the Temple Trees talks
By Shamindra Ferdinando
A latent battle between the Department of Health and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) over the recent controversial change in the system that had been put in place with regard to post-intern appointments took a new turn with the Premier Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stating that the last decision on these issues should be taken by Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa said this at the end of a meeting at Temple Trees on Tuesday morning (04) attended by Minister Rambukwella and GMOA Chairman Dr Anuruddha Padeniya.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s office yesterday (05) morning quoted him as saying at the meeting that the final decision was the prerogative of the Minister of Health. According to the statement issued under the leadership of Prime Minister Rohan Weliwita’s Media Secretary, Minister Rambukwella told Prime Minister Rajapaksa that the newly introduced system cannot be changed. After ruling out further talks to restore the scrapped system, Minister Rambukwella said he was ready to discuss the issues at stake regarding the newly introduced system. The minister was reacting to the GMOA calling for the restoration of the scrapped system.
Minister Rambukwella challenged the GMOA on the latter’s accusations of interference in administrative decisions.
Yesterday’s press release further quoted Prime Minister Rajapaksa as saying that some issues could not be resolved through discussions.
GMOA spokesperson Dr Samantha Ananda said yesterday The island that the Prime Minister’s Office called the meeting at the request of the Prime Minister. The meeting which started at 10 a.m. ended around noon with the Department of Health and GMOA unable to reach consensus on the matter under consideration.
The press release issued yesterday by the Prime Minister’s Office following strong interventions from the Ministry of Health was the third which dealt with the Temple Trees meeting.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office released two statements also under the hand of Rohan Weliwita.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said changing the system that had been put in place for post-internship appointments would cause conflict.
The prime minister advised all stakeholders to reach consensus on whether to keep the same system, including medical transfer advice.
The Prime Minister’s office on Tuesday evening (4) cited him as having instructed the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr Asela Gunawardena, to settle disputes through consultations.
In the first statement, Prime Minister Rajapaksa was cited as having blamed health ministry officials for the unilateral change in the system. Prime Minister Rajapaksa told health ministry officials not to pursue the political agenda at the expense of the government but to deal with the unions in terms of establishing a code.
Among those present at the meeting were Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella, Secretary General of Health, Major General Dr SH Munasinghe, Secretary of the National Wages Commission Chandrani Senaratne, DGSH Dr Asela Gunawardena and the President of the Association of Government Physicians (GMOA) Dr Anuruddha Padeniya.
Dr Padeniya asked the ministry to treat administrative doctors (medical administrative grade) equally without being divided into two sections, namely senior medical administrative grade and junior medical administrative grade. When asked for clarification, Dr Chamil Wijesinghe, also from the GMOA, said the GMOA believed the two sections should be combined.
The GMOA requested the intervention of Prime Minister Rajapaksa after accusing the health ministry of not responding to the doctors’ complaints. In a press release published on December 28, 2021, the GMOA explained the difficulties encountered by three categories of practicing doctors, namely (1) grade doctors (2) specialist doctors and (3) administrative doctors.
The GMOA resorted to union action from December 21 to 24 demanding that the government address seven major issues.
The GMOA, in a statement that addressed the Temple Trees meeting, said the company had been forced to strike because of the unilateral actions of Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr G. Wijesuriya. According to the GMOA statement released by its secretary, Dr Senal Fernando, Prime Minister Rajapaksa called on DGHS Dr Gunawardena to restore the abolished system in which transfer commissions played an important role.
The GMOA said Prime Minister Rajapaksa also ordered the DGHS to establish an independent committee that would be responsible for investigating irregularities caused by changes to the medical administrative rank at the request of the then health minister. Rajitha Senaratne and his wife, Dr. Sujatha Senaratne. The GMOA took the opportunity to explain how Dr Seneratne’s unilateral interventions caused problems for the medical administrative grade and resulted in an overall deterioration in services and working conditions.
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