• Consultant assigned to H’tota from Ragama not accepting DGHS-Ragama Hosp. Dir.’s letter of release 
• Doc. in question denies being released    

An Acting Consultant Anaesthetist at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama not accepting the relevant letter through which she has been released to the District General Hospital in Hambantota, has created uncertainty regarding the chance of the latter Hospital, which is maintaining its patient-care services without an anaesthetist for nearly two months, to have a permanently attached anaesthetist.

Through a letter dated 25 September 2023, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr. Asela Gunawardena had informed the Ragama Teaching Hospital Director, Dr. P.A. Liyanage Ranaweera to release Acting Consultant Anaesthetist, Dr. H.P.A. Maduwanthi to the Hambantota District General Hospital as soon as possible. 

The letter had also been copied to the Hambantota District General Hospital Director, Dr. Suranga Ubeysekara. On Monday (2), Dr. Ubeysekara had written a letter to Dr. Ranaweera, through which the former had requested the latter to make necessary arrangements to release the anaesthetist in question to the Hambantota District General Hospital. In the letter, he had also mentioned that since the Consultant Anaesthetist at the Hambantota District General Hospital had left the country without giving any notice, the Hospital had been maintaining patient-care services without the presence of an anaesthetist, in the midst of many difficulties. 

In response to the said letter, Dr. Ranaweera, through a letter dated Tuesday (3), had informed Dr. Ubeysekara that Dr. Maduwanthi had been released from the Ragama Teaching Hospital to be attached to the Hambantota District General Hospital, after her service on Tuesday. The relevant letter, which was also seen by The Daily Morning, had been copied to several parties including Dr. Maduwanthi, the DGHS, the Deputy Director General – Medical Services, and the Director – Tertiary Care Services.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, a senior official of the Ragama Teaching Hospital said that a medical officer receiving a transfer should usually report to the new workplace within 48 hours, but that Dr. Maduwanthi had not accepted the relevant letter as of last evening (4). 

“On the part of the Hospital (Ragama) administration, the work that needs to be done in this regard has already been done on the instructions of the DGHS, but, to date, she (Dr. Maduwanthi) has not accepted the relevant letter. I came to know that she has reported to work today (4) as well. However, after being released from service, she is not able to work in this Hospital (Ragama).” 

He further said that it is unacceptable for the concerned Acting Consultant Anaesthetist to avoid attending to duties at the Hambantota District General Hospital where there is no anaesthetist at all, in a backdrop where there are enough of them at the Ragama Teaching Hospital. ‘There is no shortage of anaesthetists in this Hospital (Ragama), but there are none at the Hambantota District General Hospital. It is not fair for these freshers to try to stay in Colombo based hospitals like this. It is because of the activities of such people that many crises have arisen at present.” 

He also said that Dr. Maduwanthi was not on the payroll of the Ragama Teaching Hospital since Tuesday, and that if she would not report to work at the Hambantota District General Hospital by the relevant date, the Hospital (Hambantota) has the ability to consider her as having left vacant the post.

When contacted, Dr. Maduwanthi, saying that The Daily Morning may have dialled an inaccurate mobile number, said that she had not been released to the Hambantota District General Hospital.