The death of a female patient at the Colombo National Hospital allegedly due to medical negligence raises the question if the current mass exodus of medical practitioners from the country is endangering the lives of the sick and ailing as never before.
Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana revealed that last year alone there had been over 600 complaints against doctors for alleged misdiagnosis or wrongful treatment that had led to many deaths .The situation can only get worse with the rapid departure of doctors from the country due mainly to the poor facilities not to mention the chronic lack of medicines and medical equipment in State hospitals, which prevents them from engaging in their profession to their liking.
This is mainly the case with rural hospitals. The recent imposition of high taxes against doctors and other professionals has only aggravated the situation.
The Government should take immediate steps to address the situation. This is because unlike other professions, doctors are of a different breed, for on them depend the lives of the sick and the ailing, apart from the prevention of deadly disease.
This applies both to the rich and the poor alike for no amount of money can buy one’s health and wellbeing. As an immediate measure, action should be taken to halt the exodus of not just doctors but also other professionals. The country has already lost a sizable amount from the top professions from 1956 onwards due to the ethnic crisis.
In fact, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga apologized to the people for the folly of her father in foisting “Sinhala Only” as the sole medium of instruction in the schools and Government offices which triggered the exodus.
Subsequent Governments reversed this policy and also introduced Tamil as a National language. But, by then, the damage had already been done.
Recently, when Keheliya Rambukwella was the Health Minister he held a discussion with members of the medical profession and Health Sector Trade Unions to sort out the crisis in the sector as a result of the mass exodus of doctors from the country. Nothing is known of the outcome of the discussion. But looking at things not much headway had been made, going by the mass migration of doctors.
Recently the GMOA reported that while there was a doctor shortage of nearly 4,000 in the State hospitals, as many as 5,000 doctors have left the country this year alone. Considering that there are only around 35,000 doctors in the country by the last count prior to the flight of doctors, this is a frightening prospect indeed which hangs the lives of the sick in the balance.
Hence the need for the Government to address the situation as a matter of priority. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has already announced an increased intake to the State Medical Colleges and also plans to establish three private medical colleges. He had also spoken of recruiting foreign doctors to treat local patients. But, this is a time-consuming process.
The crying need is to address the ongoing crisis. All Governments must take the blame for the failure to address the problems in the Health sector. The current crisis should have been taken note of well beforehand and steps taken to increase the number of medical professionals at the time the ethnic crisis drove away our professionals. No amount of appeals to our doctors now settled abroad or other professionals is going to bring them down.
It is not just about taxes or the ethnic problem. There are other situations too which deter them from returning home. The frequent agitations and demonstrations by Trade Unions and other segments such as teachers ( and now even doctors themselves) have held them back from returning, however much they may love the country of their birth.
One recalls former President Maithripala Sirisena pleading with our professionals working abroad to return to their Motherland promising them all incentives and perks. However, from the look of things, this fervent appeal had failed to elicit the desired response.
On the contrary, the reverse is happening with even the remaining professionals wanting to look elsewhere. They cannot be blamed since they too have families and children to care for and what the country has to offer has plainly failed to raise the needed confidence to hold them back.
For now though, the Government should take immediate damage control measures. As former Health Minister Rambukwella had opined, the Government cannot indeed stop foreign bound doctors at the airport.
The Government also cannot bar doctors domiciled abroad from returning to the country as proposed in some quarters. Hence the only avenue left is for the Government to make our professionals stay in the country, for this is a breed the country cannot do without.
We need to draw up a comprehensive plan to retain the professionals, with inputs from the professionals themselves and other stakeholders. This should address their fears and concerns and take into account their requirements. In other words, they should be duly compensated financially and in other ways for not going in search of greener pastures. The country needs their services at this crucial juncture.
