Mystery surrounds the action of a doctor, a specialist, attached to the Ratnapura General Hospital. He is alleged to have forcibly administered an injection to a trainee nurse at Ward no.13 on Monday.

The young trainee, who fell ill after the injection, is currently undergoing treatment at Ward 7 of the same hospital. She has been identified as Miss H. C. Jayaweera

Ratnapura Police have opened an investigation into the incident following a complaint by the trainee nurse’s sister. Police said they were due to record a statement from the doctor concerned.

According to initial investigations carried out by the Police, a patient, clutching his hand in pain, had gone to ward 13 on Monday afternoon and complained to the doctor concerned that he was in severe pain after receiving an injection administered to him by the trainee nurse. On hearing the patient’s complaint, the doctor had summoned Miss Jayaweera, who, accompanied by a senior nurse, responded to the specialist’s call. The specialist has asked her why she administered the particular injection and as punishment had instructed the senior nurse to administer the same injection to the trainee. When the senior nurse showed reluctance to administer the injection, the specialist himself had prepared the injection and administered it on the trainee.

The All Ceylon Nurses’ Union, in a strongly worded statement issued yesterday called upon the health authorities to take stern disciplinary action against the specialist doctor.

The Union described the specialist as a mental patient and urged the health authorities to treat him. It also said such people were a disgrace to the medical profession.

The Ratnapura incident comes in the wake of two recent incidents, the first one being at the Negombo Hospital where a doctor had raped a young female patient, strangled her and thrown her out of the sixth floor. The doctor was arrested and is now in remand custody.

Last Sunday a six-year-old girl, admitted to the Ragama Hospital after being bitten by a viper was not treated for over five hours, apparently for want of space in the Intensive Care Unit. The girl died. After the girl’s father complained to health authorities and Director General of Health Services has ordered an inquiry and called for a full report on the incident.