Health Ministry initiates probe on suspended JMO

The Health Ministry has launched a ministerial-level investigation into Consultant Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Ruhul Haq, who had practised notwithstanding the suspension being issued against him by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).

According to Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena, he had sanctioned the suspension of Dr. Haq on January 02, 2023, following the receipt of a letter from the SLMC announcing their decision.

Having said that, he stated that the responsibility of enforcing the suspension rests upon the head of the relevant institution. Nevertheless, he confirmed that a thorough investigation at a Ministerial level will be conducted to delve into the issue.

Furthermore, Dr. Gunawardena highlighted that the Public Service Commission has been notified of the situation and a response from them is pending before any further disciplinary measures can be determined.

The particular JMO has been practicing despite the suspension and has conducted two crucial postmortems of Dinesh Schaffter and the death of the three-year-old child at Lady Ridgeway Hospital following kidney surgery last week.

However, the postmortem reports of the aforementioned two incidents submitted by Dr. Ruhul Haq, contained contradictory findings as ruled by the court.