The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) is threatening a strike of doctors in the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital tomorrow unless the Health Ministry appoints a Senior Medical Administrator to the hospital.

The Association will meet the Secretary to the Health Ministry Dr. Athula Kahadaliyanage today to sort out the issue at the hospital and in the event the meeting ends in stalemate it will declare a strike tomorrow.

Afterwards it will take a stronger trade union action against the Health Ministry’s inability in resolving the issue, the GMOA said.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Upul Gunasakara told The Island that neither the present Anuradhapura hospital Director Dr. Sarath Weerabandara nor Dr. T. B. Wijekoon was not qualified to manage the affairs of the hospital. Dr. Weerabandara was a dental surgeon who was a novice in hospital administration and the GMOA alleged that Dr. T. B. Wijekoon was involved in Rs.4 million corruption charges when he was working as a Provincial Health Director.

Dr. Gunasakara said that the GMOA had, on many occasions, requested the Health Ministry to appoint a senior medical administrator to the Anuradhapura hospital which had been considered as the third best hospital in the country. The hospital had shouldered a heavy responsibility to treat security casualties and on some days the hospital had to receive 30 to 40 war casualties.

He added that although the Deputy Director General Health Services Dr.Terrence Gamini de Silva and Deputy Director General (Medical Services) Dr. Wimal Jayantha who had gone to the Anuradhapura hospital had submitted a complete report on the issues to the Director General Health Services Dr. Ajith Mendis, no tangible action to resolve the issue had been taken by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile the All Ceylon Government Medical Officers Association (ACGMOA) President Dr. Bishantha Dassanayaka alleged that although the Healthcare Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had made a statement that the Anuradhapura Teaching hospital was capable of treating security forces and affected people during LTE’s chemical attacks, the hospital was devoid of required medical equipment, trained nursing staff and medicine and proper accident service.

The Anuradhapura Teaching hospital Director Dr. Sarath Weerabandara when contacted said that the statement made by the ACGMOU was baseless because the Anuradhapura hospital had treated security personnel affected by the previous LTTE chemical attack. On his request the Health Ministry had already supplied oxygen regulators, ventilators and the required drugs for the treatment of chemical attack victims. On security reasons he was unable to provide sensitive information about the hospital’s contingency plans during chemical attacks.