• Hosp. Director claims temp. transfer

A General Surgeon attached to the Teaching Hospital (TH) in Batticaloa has allegedly been arbitrarily relieved of his duties and left idling for about five months by the said Hospital's administration.

Sources claimed to The Daily Morning that the suspended General Surgeon has been vocal about malpractices of certain anaesthetists attached to the Hospital. His suspension had, according to the sources, presumably been done as demanded by a union within the health sector, in order to silence him and hide the alleged malpractices. 

“What is surprising is that the Ministry of Health has appointed another General Surgeon to cover up duties of the unit headed by the suspended Surgeon at a time when there is a severe shortage of General Surgeons in the country. This has also resulted in the disruption of the transfers of General Surgeons. There is a standard disciplinary procedure to be followed against any official, and this decision has been taken in complete violation of that procedure. Hospital administrations can't make decisions based on unions’ demands,” a medical specialist privy to the matter said, adding that the Ministry should hence take steps to restore normalcy and initiate a preliminary inquiry into the matters pertaining to the said Hospital administration's decision, and release the excess General Surgeon to a needy station in order to optimally utilise skilled manpower.

In a letter addressed to Health Services Director General Dr. Asela Gunawardena, dated 28 October 2024 – which was seen by The Daily Morning – the Batticaloa TH Director Dr. K. Ganeshalingam has informed that there was a union action initiated by a certain union against the suspended General Surgeon, and requested that the former pay attention to the matter and resolve the problematic situation.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, Dr. Ganeshalingam said: “He has been given a temporary transfer to the Base Hospital in Kattankudy by the Ministry. Not suspended. That's all I can say.”