By Kushali Atukorale
Inefficiency of the Ministry of Healthcare has delayed the appointments of 750 post interns, charged Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday.

GMOA Spokesman Dr. Upul Gunasekara told The Nation, that the Ministry is allegedly delaying the appointments of the 750 post interns deliberately even after the approval of Public Service Commission (PSC) was granted.

“The PSC had approved these appointments two weeks ago according to the E-Code of the PSC. Thus, we don’t understand why the Ministry is delaying these appointments,” Dr. Gunasekera said.

He also said that initially the Ministry informed the GMOA that they cannot appoint the post interns as doctors since they are not been certified by the PSC.

“It will take only two days to complete the procedure as we have already made the lists. The Minister has only to approve it and make the appointments. When we ask the Ministry about the delay, the only answer they had was that they have to wait till the Minister returns to the country. Now the Minister is in the country and also we do not understand why the Deputy Minister can’t handle things in the absence of the Minister,” he asserted.

Dr. Gunasekara further noted that these 750 post interns could be appointed to hospitals easily since there are adequate vacancies in Polonnaruwa, Embilipitiya, Anuradhapura and several other Base Hospitals.

It was said that the Ministry wants to send these 750 post interns to IDP camps without giving them appointment letters.
Dr. Gunasekara queried how possible it was to send these post interns to refugee camps in the North and the East when they are not employed under the Ministry of Healthcare yet.

“Will the Ministry take responsibility for the 750 interns if something happened to them?”
“We had to force the Ministry to forward a cabinet paper to get the two doctors who were killed in Batticaloa and Hambantota respectively compensated despite them being employed by the Ministry of Health.”

“What will happen to these 750 interns since they are not employed under the Ministry yet,” he asked.

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