• Director General of Health focused on foreign tours

By KALANI KUMARASINGHE

President of the Government Medical Officers’ Forum Dr. Rukshan Bellana charged that Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was soliciting bribes, causing the downfall of the health sector of the country.

The senior medical administrator also alleged that the Director General of Health appeared to be more focused on taking part in foreign tours, rather than attending to his duties.
“We exposed the Minster’s attempt to offer the Director General of Health Services a seventh tour this year,” Bellana charged.

“On some days he lands in Sri Lanka in the morning, and by evening he is on another flight. We wondered if he is the Health Services Director General of Sri Lanka, or of the World Health Organization. That’s how frequently he travelled,” Dr. Bellana said.

The medical administrator explained that during the tenure of former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratna, a rule was imposed that an official can only take part in three overseas tours per year. However, these regulations have changed under the present Health Minister, Bellana alleged, where senior officials travel overseas frequently, after approving these tours themselves.

“By approving these frequent overseas travels, it appears as if the Minister is soliciting bribes. It’s as if to tell him (the Director General of Health Services) to stay quiet about the substandard drugs being imported to Sri Lanka,” Dr. Bellana said, charging that the Health Minister has turned a blind eye to the errant actions of ministry officials.
The medical administrator also accused the Health Minister of attempting to bribe doctors by increasing their age of retirement.

“Just because you submit a Cabinet Paper to increase their age of retirement up to 63 years, these doctors won’t stay quiet while you import low quality drugs to the country,” he said.
Dr. Bellana said that the retirement age must be reviewed for all professionals in the health sector, not just doctors.

“Please make sure that you don’t solicit bribes. You have been acting on wrong advice. Because of this you are causing the downfall of the country’s health sector, inadvertently or willingly,” he said.  

“We exposed the Minster’s attempt to offer the Director General of Health Services a seventh tour this year,” Bellana charged.

“On some days he lands in Sri Lanka in the morning, and by evening he is on another flight. We wondered if he is the Health Services Director General of Sri Lanka, or of the World Health Organization. That’s how frequently he travelled,” Dr. Bellana said.

The medical administrator explained that during the tenure of former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratna, a rule was imposed that an official can only take part in three overseas tours per year. However, these regulations have changed under the present Health Minister, Bellana alleged, where senior officials travel overseas frequently, after approving these tours themselves.

“By approving these frequent overseas travels, it appears as if the Minister is soliciting bribes. It’s as if to tell him (the Director General of Health Services) to stay quiet about the substandard drugs being imported to Sri Lanka,” Dr. Bellana said, charging that the Health Minister has turned a blind eye to the errant actions of ministry officials.
The medical administrator also accused the Health Minister of attempting to bribe doctors by increasing their age of retirement.
“Just because you submit a Cabinet Paper to increase their age of retirement up to 63 years, these doctors won’t stay quiet while you import low quality drugs to the country,” he said.