The 24-hour token strike by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) has been called off.

GMOA Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that the Health Ministry Secretary had informed the LRH Director in writing to expedite the ongoing disciplinary action against the ill-tempered consultant at the hospital and arrange suitable transfers to the doctors who had worked with the particular consultant.

“As we were ensured the solutions, we decided to call off the token strike from noon,” he said.

However, Dr Wijesinghe warned that if actions are not taken as promised, they would not hesitate to resort to a major trade union action in future.

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(Previous News : July 19, 2023 11.02am)

24-hour strike at Lady Ridgeway Hospital

The staff of the Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children, Colombo has launched a 24-hour strike from 8.00 a.m. today, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) said.

GMOA Spokesperson Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said the strike was launched in protest of ‘arbitrary’ conduct of a specialist doctor at the hospital.

Dr. Wijesinghe said the conduct of this doctor has been a long-standing issue and the hospital’s director has failed to resolve the matter.

“This compelled the GMOA to bring the matter to the attention of Director-General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena who asked for a week to look into the matter. Although three weeks have passed, he has failed to fulfill his promise,” he said.

“Accordingly, a 24-hour token strike was initiated by the OPD. However, emergency treatments will continue,” the GMOA Spokesperson said.

When asked about the strike, LHR Director Dr. G. Wijesuriya said he was not informed of the strike.

“I am aware of a token strike but I was not informed. The conduct of the said specialist doctor has remained an issue due to her rude attitude. However, none of the doctors on strike work under this specialist doctor. There are no other doctors except the interns under her for about a month. I do not know how they have been harassed for a month since there are no other doctors working with her.”

“Steps have been taken to stop admitting patients to the ward, where the said specialist doctor is attached to. There is nothing else I can do beyond that. I have no authority to remove or transfer a doctor appointed by the Public Service Commission,” Dr. Wijesuriya said.