- GMOA Ex-Co unanimously objects to decision
Despite a Cabinet decision last week stating that a private medical faculty will be established through the National School of Business Management (NSBM), the latter is yet to submit an application to the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) for approval to establish such a faculty, The Sunday Morning learns.
On 12 March, the Cabinet decision noted that the Cabinet of Ministers had approved a proposal to upgrade the Homagama Base Hospital to a teaching hospital as the NSBM had proposed to establish a medical faculty with a plan to enrol 500 foreign and local students annually.
Accordingly, the NSBM had sought approval to reserve the Homagama Base Hospital for clinical training for its medical students.
All medical schools are required to gain accreditation from the SLMC as it is the regulatory body maintaining quality standards in medical schools.
However, The Sunday Morning learns that despite the NSBM being yet to even submit an application for accreditation for a medical faculty, a separate private institution had submitted an application to the SLMC.
Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers’ Association’s (GMOA) Executive Council has unanimously objected to the decision to hand over the Homagama Base Hospital to a non-State entity for its clinical training purposes.
“The Homagama Base Hospital is one of the hospitals used by the Sri Jayewardenepura Medical Faculty for clinical training. The faculty’s students use both the Homagama Hospital and the Sri Jayewardenepura Teaching Hospital. In fact, on 31 January 2023 a Cabinet paper was approved by the Cabinet to allocate the Avissawella Hospital as well for the Sri Jayewardenepura Medical Faculty. In this context, since the Homagama Hospital is already being used by a State faculty, the GMOA Executive Committee unanimously objects to the decision,” GMOA Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe told The Sunday Morning.
According to Dr. Wijesinghe, the largest medical faculty – the Colombo University Medical Faculty – uses multiple hospitals, including the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, for clinical training of about 240 students per batch. Therefore, he said that a question of capacity would also arise if the NSBM planned to train 500 students per batch.
Dr. Wijesinghe further said that the GMOA was of the stance that a proper feasibility study needed to be conducted before medical education in the country, be it State or non-State, was expanded.
“Approximately 2,500 new doctors are produced every year by State medical faculties and foreign institutions. Where are we going to place them, especially for proper internship training? Do we have enough hospitals to provide them with internship training? High-quality clinical training is essential in making a high-quality doctor.”
He added that State medical faculties were in a huge crisis due to a lack of lecturers and funds, emphasising that the Government’s responsibility should be to protect and uplift the existing State medical education.
Multiple attempts to contact the SLMC Accreditation Unit proved futile.