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| Wednesday, 17 March 2004 |
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National Hospital overflows with patients The Colombo National Hospital was yesterday overcrowded with patients rejected by the Colombo South Teaching Hospital ( Kalubowila) and Ragama Teaching Hospitals which had stopped admitting patients as the doctors' strike entered its seventh day. Around 500 patients are admitted daily to the Kalubowila and Ragama Hospitals, according to hospital sources. Colombo National hospital sources said with the two hospitals have refused to admit patients, the CNH is running above its capacity. The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said it will stop admitting patients to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital today. OPD treatments and health clinics at the hospitals islandwide have been suspended due to the strike. The GMOA yesterday urged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to intervene to solve the issue, which has already paralysed the public health service. The administration of hospitals islandwide has also been hampered after the doctors withdrew from the administrative functions as part of the trade union action. Meanwhile, the Health Services Trade Union Federation yesterday warned that it would take trade union action, if any salary increase for the GMOA causes a salary disparity in the Health sector. The GMOA has insisted that it would continue with the trade union action till what it called a "salary discrimination" is addressed, failing which, the GMOA warned doctors will resign from the Government service. The health strike has no impact on the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Cancer Hospital, Maharagama, Castle Street Hospital and De Soyza Women's Hospital, which function as usual. Government doctors decided to continue their strike after a discussion with Finance Minister K.N. Choksy ended unsuccessfully on Monday. The GMOA's general assembly on Friday decided to continue their strike despite Minister Choksy's written assurance to solve their salary anomaly within eight weeks of the opening of the Parliament on April 22. "We are demanding the implementation of the salary scale set out in Circular No.37/92. We believe that the Finance Minister will give an alternative solution as he promised. The circular pertaining to the rectification of salary anomalies of the health services has become a big problem to Class II Medical Officers. The willingness of medical officers to resign if the problem is not solved was discussed at the General Assembly today. This will result in a serious breakdown of the health services," Association's President Dr. Kumar Weerasekera stressed. Minister Choksy had called upon the GMOA to discontinue the strike and stated that their demands would be addressed by the Finance Ministry in consultation with the Health Ministry after the General Election. A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on GMOA strike states Finance Minister K. N. Choksy, had further protracted discussions with the GMOA with a view to calling off the on-going strike in the public hospitals. The GMOA are demanding that the salaries of all grades of medical officers be increased forthwith with retrospective effect from January, to the scale recommended by the Health Ministry Committee. The Minister informed the delegation that the recent changes made in the salaries of the doctors and nurses had caused unrest in other sectors of the public service as also in certain sectors of the health service itself. He pointed out that with the dissolution of the Parliament, the Government is not in a position to make any further increase until the conclusion of the general election, when a decision would be made on the demands within an agreed time frame. The Minister pointed out that the Health Services Trade Union Alliance and the Public Service United Nurses Union have both agreed with him not to press their demands just now, and to continue working. Other trade unions in the public service have also been informed that no salary revision could be made presently. All public officers had meanwhile received salary increases with the last Budget. The Minister stated that the strike was causing distress to patients who were hopeless, and had no control over the doctors' demand. |
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