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Don’t repeat mistakes made with fertiliser issue in health sector, says expert
View(s):By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
With the implementation of the retirement age at 60 years of age, medical specialists expressed grave concern that the state health sector would get a “fatal injection’ which would lead to its collapse.
“Nearly 300 medical specialists from various fields will go home on one day, impacting heavily on patients and their lives,” said Consultant Paediatrician Dr. LakKumar Fernando, echoing the worries of the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS).
He cautioned that the mistakes made with regard to the fertiliser issue should not be repeated in the health sector. “We should not go down this pathway at any cost. If we do, there is a major impending danger to the much lauded state health sector.”
Looking at the niche specialty of transfusion medicine as just one example, he said that eight Transfusion Physicians would retire on one single day, debilitating this important service. They would be from major hospitals such as the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), Colombo; the Kandy National Hospital; the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama; the De Soysa and Castle Street Hospitals for Women, Colombo; the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) for Children, Colombo; the National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS), Narahenpita; and the Karapitiya and Ratnapura Teaching Hospitals.
Dr. Fernando pointed out that even before the implementation of the 60-year retirement age, state hospitals were facing a dearth of these specialists at outstation hospitals including some teaching hospitals. This is while six Senior Registrars on overseas training currently are “highly unlikely” to return to Sri Lanka and four specialists in service are in the process of migrating and four others have already left the country.
Referring to a different negative impact, he said that with the new retirement age as well as migration, specialists who are qualified to train others – having completed five years of service after board certification – will be very few. This would seriously affect the post-graduate training of transfusion trainees.
“This is an example taken from transfusion medicine and there would be a similar impact on many other specialties,” Dr. Fernando underscored, pointing out that with the number of trainers reducing, the number of slots available for trainees at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) would also drop drastically.
Meanwhile, a list drawn up by the AMS of those who would retire under the new age ceiling, according to Dr. Fernando include: 17 Anaesthetists; 8 Cardiologists; 6 Cardiothoracic Surgeons; 19 Obstetricians & Gynaecologists; 25 Paediatricians; 22 Physicians; 24 General Surgeons; 5 Respiratory Physicians; 4 dermatologists, 5 ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat) Surgeons; 18 Ophthalmologists (Eye Surgeoens); 2 Plastic Surgeons; 2 Paediatric Surgeons; 6 Radiologists and more.
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