The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) today has requested the Health Ministry to inquire on Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister Mahipala Herath’s alleged involvement of disturbing the Medical Staff of Karpitiya Teaching Hospital ICU while they have been engaged in saving the lives of two accident victims last week.
According to the Assistant Secretary of the GMOA Dr.Chandana Atapattu the Chief Minister of Sabaragamuwa Province unnecessarily requested the permission to enter the ICU at the time these two patients were admitted to the hospital ICU around 11.30 p.m on 15th of February which was denied by the medical staff.After the incident the Chief Minister made a complaint to the Ministry Of Health against the ICU Medical Staff alleging their refusal..In a response Ministry of Health has sent a team of investigators to conduct an inquiry against the medical staff and they failed to proceed the inquiry further after the medical staff’s refusal of giving any statements to the investigators on the incident.
Dr.Atapattu has said during a Press Briefing held in Colombo this noon that traditionally in any country no one even in the highest rank person of the country would allow to enter the ICU while medical staff is involved in life saving process of a patient."Therefore we urged the Health Ministry to inquire on the Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister’s behavior instead of inquiring on medical staff’s decision on not allowing the chief minister to enter the ICU that time which was seen as an unnecessary request" he further stressed.