Health Ministry to introduce finger print machines

Lakmini Rodrigo

COLOMBO: Health Ministry will introduce finger print machines shortly to all hospitals in the country to get the entire work force mark their attendance.

This new system of marking one's attendance will also be extended to all other institutions that come under the purview of the Health Ministry.

Health and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Daily News that the discipline of the public sector envisaged under the Mahinda Chinthanaya would be easier to stabilise in the health sector by implementing this new swiping system.

The implementation of the machine in all public sector organisations had been suggested by the recently released salary circular 6/2006 as well and the Minister observed that the implementation of the machines in his Ministry had proven to be greatly beneficial to both the Ministry and the public.

Referring to the raids carried out by the flying squad of his Ministry in the recent past, Minister de Silva said the implementation of the new system of attendance would definitely reduce the number of raids the Ministry had to carry out to trackdown health workers who did private practice during office hours.

According to the Minister, the Ministry had carried out 43 raids in the country. Raids in the Jayawardhanapura hospital had revealed 85 health workers including consultants, doctors and nurses who had been out of the hospital during duty hours.

The Minister added that 36 staff officers of the health sector were at the moment standing trial by the Public Services Commission to be transferred to the North and East due to private practice during office hours.