Thank you Prof. for enlightening us of the situation created by the SLMC

It is a praiseworthy decision by Prof. Colvin Gunaratna to resign from the Sri Lanka Medical Council as he acknowledges the ‘archaic Medical Ordinance’ which he claims as ineffective in achieving its primary objective of ensuring the welfare of the public of Sri Lanka. It is interesting to note that the SLMC consists of 25 members from the Medical Faculty - the Medical Teachers Association and none from other professions such as Law, Architecture, Journalism, Business Management like UK’s General Medical Council (GMC). This is the secret of the bargaining and sometimes blackmailing by the Government authorities to achieve their undisputed claims, as most of their members belong to TU’s. No wonder, then patients’ rights and welfare truly are not their concern!

Thank you Professor for enlightening the nation of the dangerous situation created by the SLMC which breaches the true intention of its creators failing to offer the best medical care for the public, as it has been converted to serve the interests of the Medical Unions.

The time has come to revamp the SLMC to meet the requirements of the public and make necessary amendments to the laws. Representation from the other professions must be 50-50 and the total number of members could be reduced to 12 like the UK GMC.

As there is a serious shortage of medical specialists in our country, SLMC must be empowered to register such specialists from foreign countries to offer their expertise and services to patients in Sri Lanka. This would help the private sector hospitals to upgrade their services like in other developed countries and facilitate opportunities for Sri Lankan doctors to widen their medical skills to match international standards.

Specialist doctors who have obtained post graduate degrees in their countries must be acceptable to the SLMC as well. Frequent strikes by members of the GMOA are affecting the patients seeking treatments at govt. hospitals and now private hospitals. Therefore the new SLMC must register those foreign doctors to serve at our private hospitals, if they possess the required qualifications and experience as acceptable in countries the world over, only to ensure the welfare of the public of Sri Lanka.