President should reveal his stance on Malabe Hospital- IUSF

8 February 2016 03:53 pm

The Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) today said President Maithripala Sirisena should make a statement regarding his stance on the offer made by the Chairman of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in Malabe, Dr. Neville Fernando to use his ‘Dr. Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital’ (NFTH) as a semi-government hospital.

Without making statements regarding irrelevant matters just like the controversial incident happened in some pop music concert held last December, the President’s concern should be paid for important matters because of what the general public is distressed over many years.

President Sirisena has previously accepted the NFTH as a teaching hospital when he was serving as the Minister of Health in 2011. But, after the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) refuted to recognize the NFTH as a teaching hospital in 2012, the President had told Parliament that the NFTH could not be accepted, the IUSF Convener Lahiru Weerasekara said.

“Dr. Neville Fernando has said the decision was made by him after realizing that poor patients, who come for treatment to his hospital, could not afford to pay for hospital charges. We are keen to ask him whether he did not feel sorry when Kaveesha’s family was begging to get Kaveesha's body when they failed to pay the charges on time to the NFTH. We are urging the President not to attempt to guard Dr. Fernando by accepting his plea,” Lahiru Weerasekara said.

He said the letter which has been sent by Dr. Neville Fernando to the President with regard to his offer, should be put into the dustbin.  (Piyumi Fonseka and Darshana Sanjeewa)