Thousands to be affected as health services come to a standstill

• No issuance of prescriptions for medicines
• Specialists will not take part in TU action

Colombo, Nov. 17 (Daily Mirror) - With the key medical professional body declaring a trade union action from today (17), the patients are once again held to ransom, leaving them to face the fallout of stalled services.

From today, doctors in hospitals island wide will limit several essential services, including issuing prescriptions for medicines to be purchased from external pharmacies and recommending laboratory tests to be conducted at private facilities.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said the trade union action stems from the government’s failure to address longstanding issues in the health sector, including concerns raised over next year’s budget proposals.

Despite repeated notifications to health authorities, no satisfactory solutions have been offered, the union said.

According to GMOA Secretary Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa confirmed that the union action will begin at 8 a.m. today and will be implemented across all hospitals.

Adding to the mounting pressure, the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) also expressed deep frustration over what it described as “decades of unresolved injustices.”

These include unfair service placements, pay disparities, and inadequate professional training facilities.

The AMS accused the government of ignoring key pledges made in the 2026 Budget, such as revising transport allowances and introducing fair overtime payments.

However, AMS sources said the specialists will not be taking part in any trade union action for now aa they have put forward their action plan to the authorities.

Meanwhile, the health minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the Ministry remains ready and open for discussions with doctors at any time.

In the past too, medical professionals have at times held the public to ransom, leaving ordinary people struggling to access basic health services until their demands were met.

Doctors also say that health authorities have repeatedly failed to respond to their concerns forcing them to resort to trade union action as a way to get attention when their requests are ignored.