Doctors who resign urged to reveal reasons

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Senior medical professionals who had been resigning from the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 Technical Committee should reveal why they had left abruptly, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.

Commenting on Senior Consultant Physician, at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama and Dr. Asoka Gunaratne leaving the committee that asked with making recommendations to control the Covid-19 pandemic, Kumudesh said that they had a responsibility to tell why they had left.

“There are several committees to deal with various aspects of the pandemic. We have seen that people who are highly respected in the field leaving these committees. Earlier Prof. Neelika Malavige and Prof. A. Pathmeswaran resigned from the independent vaccine advisory expert committee. These are people we hold in high esteem. Why are they leaving? If there is something wrong with these committees, these experts must reveal this to the public.”

The CMLS President said that the Ministry of Health cared little about following proper systems and international norms. The Director General of Health Services had recently issued guidelines asking frontline workers, infected with the Coronavirus, to return to work 10 days after they started receiving medical treatment, Kumudesh said.

“Such frontline workers will not be tested before returning to duty. This is insanity and we would like to ask the DGHS why such a decision was taken. Wouldn’t this lead to a super spreader?” he asked.