SLCP writes to President on SLMC and wants Medical Ordinance amended

The Council and the Members of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians (SLCP) said they were gravely concerned about recent incidents of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) which led to removal of five members in the Council including the President and raised urgent need to amend the Medical Ordinance.

In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the SLCP said the SLMC should be an independent body and authority on the professional standards and ethical practices of the medical profession which ensure safety of the public from malpractices and exploitation. 

“It is very important to consider and reiterate that the functions of the SLMC necessarily have to be centred around the members of the general public, who are the patients that the doctors have to provide the healthcare for,” it said.

“We believe that to maintain these essential high standards in the practice of healthcare, it is necessary to amend and revise the current medical ordinance urgently to pave the way for the establishment of an independent Medical Council like the General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom. In such an endeavour, the SLMC would mandatorily require representation from non-medical professionals, the general public, as well as representatives from the medical profession, with equal representation by medical and non-medical personnel,” the SLCP added.

“It is our considered opinion that the SLMC should consist of senior medical professionals of credibility and integrity together with non-medical personnel of integrity with a proven track-record, rather than the parties with vested interests,” it added.

Thus, the SLCP requested the President to pay his attention to the current issue involving the SLMC for the betterment of the medical profession and to enable the members of the medical profession to maintain optimal standards of healthcare that is expected by the general public as well as ensuring the safety of the patients.