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| Trade
Unions, Health Ministry playing with patients The trade union action initially confined to the Colombo National Hospital was extended to all government hospitals in the Colombo district on Thursday and crippled health services in several other institutions as well when the minor employees launched an island wide strike on Friday. The trade union action impacted on the health services of the country disrupting the work in several hospitals leaving thousands of patients in agony. At the Colombo National Hospital, even routine clinics where patients come for follow up medication, remained closed, as minor employees were unavailable to issue tokens and locate the medical history cards of the patients. Seen seated for hours in the benches outside the padlocked doors of the clinic consultation rooms were patients, hoping they would be able to receive treatment. Most of them had no idea whatsoever that clinics would not be conducted in the absence of minor employees. While some left disgruntled, there were others waiting in anticipation for a doctor or a nurse to come by to check their health condition. It had been a long wait for 80-year-old D.P.N. Hettiarachchi who suffers from a cardiac problem. Coming from Kattuwa in Negombo, Mr. Hettiarachchi had been regularly visiting the clinic for more than 9 years now. Trade union action by the health staff seemed to be a mundane issue for him. Used to the situation over the years, he was patiently seated for nearly six hours. "I am told that they might open the clinics later in the day in case the striking employees return. So I'll wait a few more hours," Mr. Hettiarachchi said, when asked why he did not go home. S. S. Perera of Delgoda, had arrived at 9.30 a.m. for his first clinic consultation after a kidney transplant and seemed to be as optimistic as Mr. Hettiarachchi that the clinics would open at any moment. Ms Seelawathie from Kegalle was waiting for the clinic doors to open for a different reason. During her last visit, she had left behind her national identity card and several other medical papers and was back at the clinic on Thursday hoping the staff may have carefully kept it for her. "I have been waiting from 6 in the morning, but no doctor or nurse has arrived yet. I came all the way from Kegalle to find my belongings and now I have to go back if they don't open the clinic", she said. While the clinics and even the OPD was affected especially in the first two days of the strike, several other sectors of the hospital such as the kitchen, operating theatres, drug issuance and laundry were not fully functional. Hospitals had to seek services from the private sector, hire employees or make temporary arrangements to continue with day to day functions until the situation was resolved. Following a Cabinet decision on Wednesday, army personnel were deployed in hospital kitchens and in other sectors where the functions of attendants were considered vital. Relatives of patients had to help out by pushing trolleys and wheelchairs and in some instances, do all the work of an attendant, in taking care of their loved ones in hospital. Following the issuance of a circular by the Ministry of Health cancelling all leave and warning all minor employees that if absent they would be considered as having vacated their post, a small percentage of the striking trade unionists later returned to work. The Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children requested assistance from parents to ensure undisrupted services. LRH Director Dr. M.R. Jayantha told The Sunday Times that all routine operations in the hospital were cancelled on Thursday and Friday while most of the services have been severely affected. On a daily basis, the hospital carries out some 30 routine operations and 50 to 60 casualty surgeries. With the laundry section being handled by the minor employees, the hospital had to seek private dhobis to wash linen. "We have minor staff who have been especially trained to operate machines used to sterilize the linen. So although we can get the linen washed outside there was nobody to sterilize them", an official said. Unavailability of staff to bring in oxygen cylinders was another cause for the cancellation of routine operations. However, the services of employees from Ceylon Oxygen company was sought. At least 20 Army personnel were serving at the LRH covering up for duties by minor employees. "Unlike in some hospitals where at least a few of the minor staff have returned to work, at LRH, it was zero attendance", a LRH doctor said. The minor staff had pulled out of services at the LRH from Thursday. "We asked mothers to keep at least one male at the hospital in case of an emergency," Dr. Jayantha said. OPD and clinics were functioning without disruption. Meanwhile mothers took over the kitchen at the LRH to ensure that their children do not go hungry. Some hospitals, including the National Hospital re-employed formerly interdicted staff to make up for the absence of several hundreds of their employees. Director Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said that some 700-800 minor employees working per shift at the National Hospital, only about 150-200 were at work. The hospital had a total of 2000 minor employees working in three shifts. The hospital was compelled to make arrangements to scatter the available staff to help out at the various essential sections. |
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