The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) commended the Government and Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi for legalising the minimum qualifications for medical education and added that two B passes and a C pass at the GCE Advanced Level examination should have been the minimum qualification to maintain the standard of the medical profession in the country.
GMOA Secretary, Dr. Senal Fernando said that it is the Government’s responsibility to protect the patients’ rights and the Government needs to protect the quality of medical services and the standard of medical education.
This has been done to some extent with the new law, he said.
GMOA Editor, Dr. Haritha Aluthge said the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) maintains the quality of medical service and standard of medical education and the Medical Ordinance is implemented by the SLMC on behalf of the Government. Therefore, the Medical Ordinance should be updated from time to time. Former Health Minister, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne had been an obstacle in bringing the minimum standard for medical education from 2006 when he was only an Opposition MP. He was the stumbling block to then Health Minister, Nimal Siripala De Silva and former Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena from bringing in the minimum standard for medical education, he said. GMOA Assistant Secretary, Dr. Navin De Zoysa said when Dr. Rajitha Senaratne became the Health Minister in 2015 hundreds of medical students who had not even sat the Advanced Level examination and students with three Fs (failed) received registration as MBBS doctors in Sri Lanka.
Former Higher Education Minister, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe highlighted the gravity of this situation in Parliament and opposed this injustice and dangerous process which put patients’ lives in grave danger while Dr. Senaratne ignored it and permitted unqualified medical students to become MBBS doctors, he said. There are still four henchmen of Dr. Senaratne in the SLMC and patients’ lives are in danger. The GMOA hopes Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi will end the `Darkest Rajitha era in Health’ and ensure the safety of patients, he said.
The current minimum standard for medical education (proposed and drafted by the previous Yahapalana Government) is two credits (2 C) and one ordinary pass (1 S) at the Advanced Level examination in the science stream. However, since 2006, the GMOA and other organisations such as the Parents’ Union of State Medical Students and Medical Students’ Union demanded at least two B passes (2 B) and one credit pass (1 C) as the minimum standard for medical education.