SLMA urges medical students to return

8 November 2017 09:25 am

The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) said yesterday it was deeply concerned about the prevalent turmoil in medical education in the country and urged medical students of all State medical faculties to immediately return to their academic activities.

SLMA President Professor Chandrika Wijayaratne said in a statement that the SLMA called upon the parents of medical students of all State medical faculties to encourage and ensure that their children returned to their academic activities without further delay and requested the academic staff of all State medical faculties and their respective medical teachers’ trade unions to create, ensure and sustain an environment in which students can commence and continue with their interrupted academic activities without further delay.

The SLMA requested the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Sri Lanka to ensure that all categories of staff attached to all medical faculties perform their duties as per UGC and other relevant government rules, regulations and circulars without any further delay and called upon all medical doctors in Sri Lanka to adhere to and maintain the highest standards of professionalism in providing healthcare services to the citizens of Sri Lanka without interruption.

It requested the Sri Lankan Government to ensure that all agreements it reaches with all relevant stakeholders, be carried out without any compromise.

“The SLMA wishes to further reiterate its position with regards to the health services and medical education in the country. We are particularly concerned that under the existing rules and regulations in the Medical Ordinance and the Universities Act, the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has only limited powers to regulate and ensure standards of medical education in Sri Lanka. Therefore, there is an urgent need to enact legislation to make the SLMC an independent authority with adequate powers to protect the public from unqualified or substandard medical practitioners,” the statement said.

The SLMA also said it wished to state that their organization, as the apex medical body that represents all grades of doctors in the country, is not against properly constituted and regulated Private Medical Education in the country.

“However, the issue of Private Medical Education in the country needs further discussion,” the statement stated.