• SLMC unaware of members’ external work situ and yet to receive complaint on matter

Medical professionals are expecting the Minister of Health, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana to take appropriate action regarding three Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) members who are continuing to function as SLMC members while receiving Government salaries and pensions in violation of the Medical Ordinance.

Section 12(1)(f) of the Medical Ordinance states that of four members nominated by the Minister, at least two, shall not be in Government employment or in receipt of a pension from the Government.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, a member of a professional body representing medical professionals claimed that Dr. Kapila Jayaratne, Dr. Anver Hamdani and Dr. Janaka Rajapaksha, all of whom were nominated to the SLMC by the former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, are currently receiving Government salaries and pensions. 

Accordingly, Dr. Jayaratne, who is a family physician attached to the Health Ministry, has recently retired and joined the University of Colombo as an academic staff member, and is receiving both a pension for his service at the Ministry and a salary for his service at the University. Dr. Hamdani is serving at the Ministry. As per a letter issued by him in November, 2023, he is the Coordinator-in-Charge for Covid-19 and Health Care Donor Activities at the Ministry. Dr. Rajapaksha is currently a Consultant Radiologist attached to the National Hospital in Colombo. The said member further claimed that either the Health Minister should remove one of the said three SLMC members, or one of them should voluntarily resign, as the Medical Ordinance has been violated due to all three of them receiving Government salaries and/or pensions. The medical professional said that the Health Minister must ensure that the appointment of members of an institution such as the SLMC, which is the highest body related to medical professionals, adheres to the Medical Ordinance.

Dr. Pathirana was not available for comment.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Registrar of the SLMC, Dr. Hemantha Herath said that while they are aware of the relevant provision of the Medical Ordinance, they are however not aware of the institution in which the members nominated by the Minister are working or whether they are receiving any Government salaries or pensions. "We don’t know whether they are receiving salaries or pensions or are working in any other institution. We don’t make any recommendations to the Minister in nominating the relevant members. However, if we receive a complaint about such a matter, we will inform the Minister about it. We have not yet received a complaint though," he said. 

The SLMC, which has a membership of 43, is a statutory body established for the purpose of protecting healthcare seekers by ensuring the maintenance of academic and professional standards, discipline and ethical practice by health professionals who are registered with it. It derives its statutory powers from Chapter 105 of the Medical Ordinance of 1924 and its subsequent amendments and the regulations gazetted under the Ordinance.