Jaffna interns want to serve islandwide

by Anushka Nanayakkara

Minister of Health and Nutrition Nimal Siripala told journalists he decided to appoint students of the 2006/07 batch of the Jaffna Medical Faculty to work for one year in the North and the East Provinces, due to the shortage of doctors. The Minister said prior to taking the decision he spoke to Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) and TNA members who did not raise any objections.

The pre-intern doctors of all Medical Faculties told the Sunday Observer that the decisions disregarded the existing merit list and were taken to suit the needs of the Minister. They also said the solution should be to increase the number of doctors appointed to the North and East and not to restrict the services of Jaffna Medical faculty students to these areas.

Pre-intern doctors of all medical faculties said if the changes are implemented the graduates of the Jaffna Medical Faculty will take legal action. This will delay the allocation of internship appointments by several months resulting in more problems. The measures taken to reduce the backlog created in 1989 will be in vain and the problem will be further aggravated.

They also said the quality of healthcare will plummet further and disrupt the financial status and social life. The doctors said that they hope President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Ministers will understand the gravity of this problem. GMOA Secretary Dr. A.B. Padeniya said that the Minister had said several times that the GMOA agreed to confine their internship placements to the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

The Secretary said they have not and will not support the violation of the merit list. He said GMOA will only safeguard the medical services and does not understand why the Minister is trying to discriminate the smooth functioning of the medical services.