Protect whistle blowers in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka the government, medical Practitioners are permitted to engage in private practice outside their assigned hours of duty. Some doctors are culpable of abusing this facility for personal gains. Some of them have their own private medical care centers or laboratories. Some others act in connivance with reputed private hospitals in which their business is dependent on the government paid medical specialists. Those who abuse it, demand the patients to get their pathological tests done in their private laboratories stating that the tests done at the hospital laboratory cannot be relied upon. Ironically the same medical officers treat the warded patients in the government hospitals depending on the investigations carried out in the hospital laboratories.

This has placed the poor patients in a vulnerable position. When it is possible to get the medical investigations done at the hospital free of charge, they are compelled to get the same investigations done in private laboratories paying a huge amount of money that they find very difficult to afford.

Although the medical officers are prohibited to engage in private practice during their normal hours of duty, there are some doctors attending on patients in private channeling centers during the normal duty hours.

To add insult to the injury, the whistle blowers who campaign against such misconduct and corrupt practices are victimized.

It tantamount to structural violence using the state machinery,

This situation is created by either acting on misinformation, manipulation or exerting pressure on the administration by conducting organized campaigns by the perpetrators who have become powerful lobbyists through Trade Unions.

Apparently there have been many instances of patients deaths due to medical negligence and the innocent poor people are unable to fight against such incidents. Thus the killer doctors get away scot free and even the state machinery is humbled and the persons who cry for justice, fair play and good medical ethics are victimized.

Information with substantial evidence has been received by us about the latest acts of medical negligence rampant at Diyathalawa base hospital in the Uva province which is considered a less privileged area.

We have now decided to highlight this situation and protest against such megalomania carried out by the medical mafia in Sri Lanka.

Allegedly medical negligence at Diyathalawa hospital has led to several deaths in the recent past but apparently with the support of the trade unions and political influence investigations into these matters are either not conducted or subject to attempts to thwart the revelation of the truth.

Dr. Palitha Bandara Subasinghe who blew the whistle and exposed the real situation at the Diyathalawa hospital has been victimized and forced out of his job.

As a result of Dr. Palith Bandara Subasinghe attempting to expose misconduct, /corruption and medical negligence, interested parties initially had resorted to the following acts to defame, discredit and tarnish his image;
1. Fabrication of a rape case. A woman was set up to make a complaint against Dr. Palitha Bandara Subasinghe but the police investigations revealed that the situation was a manipulation.
2. A contract was given to the underworld to kill him.

If the whistle blowers are victimized and forced out of employment, it will follow a pattern and the public run the risk of medical negligence/ misconduct and corruption being overlooked and the medical mafia getting stronger. Victimization of whistle blowers and people who crave for justice, could act as a deterrent for exposing future incidents of this nature. It acts as a barrier against any move aimed towards exposing such incidents. This unhealthy example of unjust victimization of a whistle blower at Diyathalawa hospital is not nipped in the bud and culprits brought before the law, the country is at risk of experiencing similar incidents in all other fields like a plague.

We the public insist that the government protect the whistle blowers and look into the situations of those who attempt to promote good medical practices compassionately.

Therefore, we call for immediate action by way of;
1. An independent, impartial and a fair inquiry into the incidents which took place at Diyathalawa base hospital in Sri Lanka and to take punitive actions against those who are found guilty of medical negligence and unethical conduct
And
2. To grant relief and remove the injustices caused to Dr. Palitha Bandara Subasinghe who has only acted as the whistle blower, taking into consideration any orchestrated, manipulated penalization of him.