Don’t register with new Council: GMOA

By Nadia Fazlulhaq

The Executive Committee of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has requested association members to refrain from registering with the Private Medical Institutions Council until further notice from the GMOA, despite the Health Ministry deadline lapsing last week.

The Private Medical Act, which created confusion in the medical field, was implemented with a deadline given to private medical institutions including all private hospitals, laboratories, nursing homes, dentists and full-time and part-time private medical practitioners to register with the Private Medical Institutions Regulatory Council by June 22.

The GMOA alleged that through the Private Medical Services Regulatory Commission Act No.21 of 2006; Sri Lanka Medical Council registered doctors have to re-register while bogus doctors can carry on freely unnoticed by the Private Medical Institutions Council.

Association Secretary Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya said the Minister could not control the private health sector by applying a ‘Private Medical Institutions Act’ and through this regulate the regulated but leave out the quacks.

“The Act while defining a Private Medical Institution has excluded ‘house of observation, mental hospital, hospital, nursing homes, dispensaries, medical centres controlled by the state, any private dispensary or pharmacy or drug stores exclusively used or intended to be used for dispensing and selling any drug, medical preparation or pharmaceutical product, or any institution or premises registered for any purpose under the provisions of the Ayurveda Act, No.31 of 1961 and the Homeopathy Act No. 7 of 1970’ which clearly shows that doctors practicing Western medicine were being victimized more,” he said.

Dr. Padeniya said there was no dispute that the private sector needs to be regulated and professionals in the field would give their support.

“The private sector is not only service oriented but it also has a commercial objective. So the Act should be balanced, as the patients are the ones who will be affected. Through the Act public interest is ignored,” he said.

Dr. Padeniya said in any country professionals are not charged for taking up private practice. If the teachers are charged for conducting tuition classes they will definitely charge high fees from students to compensate. Charging fees from professionals may have a negative impact and might lead doctors to leave the country, he said.

“Doctors in this country earn around Rs.30, 000 - Rs.50,000 a month from working in Government hospitals and to become a specialist there is a 14-year period of training, so private practice is more than a privilege but compulsory with the rising cost of living,” he said.

Dr. Padeniya said that the council was politicised, as 90% in it were the Minister’s nominees and not professionals in the field.“The SL Medical Council is dominated by professionals in the field but this Council is dominated by the political hierarchy and the minister has the power to remove any appointed member of the Council. The Minister is hoping to improve standards through this Council but how can good standards be maintained when it is politicised. It’s not a profession-dominated council,” he said.