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Serious concern over 40,000 quacks
View(s):- Call for Medical Registry for GPs at double celebration of CGPSL and WONCA SAR
Dr. D.K.D. Mathew addressing the gathering. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
On the evening of Saturday, May 4, they were gathered in full strength for a grand double celebration in Colombo – the marking of the milestone of the 50th anniversary (golden jubilee) of the College of GPs of Sri Lanka (CGPSL) and the inauguration of the WONCA SAR (South Asia Region) Conference 2024. WONCA is the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of GPs/Family Physicians, with the short name of ‘World Organization of Family Doctors’.
The three-day WONCA SAR Conference was held from May 3 to 5 on the theme ‘Celebrating Family Medicine – Nurturing Our Values across the Region’.
Dr. Preethi Wijegoonewardene addressing the gathering
Explaining that GPs deal with physical, mental and social symptoms and signs in individuals, their families and the community to deliver quality promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care, CGPSL President Dr. D.K.D. Mathew emphasised that such treatment should be in an ethical and professional manner based on the principles of family medicine.
He said: ‘Medicine is a matter of science. Scientific advances become medical progress only when they reach the people who need it the most.
“Medicine is also a matter of income, geography and justice. Access to healthcare is still impeded in much of the world by neglect, distance, governance, prejudice and fixed ideas of what is possible.
“We as technocrats and experts are comfortable and content in our discipline; what we ignore is the process of getting our collective knowledge into action so that our patients may benefit from our scientific discussions.
Dr. K. Sri Ranjan addressing the gathering
“Therefore, let’s spend as much time as possible during this conference in discussing universally implementable processes which we can adopt to deliver stronger primary care within our health systems.”
WONCA President and Chief Guest, Prof. Karen Flegg, said that the mission of WONCA is to improve the life of the people of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation is that the health systems need to be re-oriented. The need is to stem costs of healthcare by investing in primary health care and moving money from secondary and tertiary care to this area.
“There should be a family doctor for every family,” she said.
Hailing the occasion as historic, the President of WONCA SAR, Dr. K. Sri Ranjan, described the sessions as being “robust”, while sharing valuable insights.
He brought to the fore the “pressing” issue of around 40,000 quacks pretending to be family doctors. “These bogus doctors undermine the integrity of the health system and pose a significant risk to the public,” he said, posing the question: “What can we do?”
Reiterating that this problem is not limited to Sri Lanka but is prevalent in the region too, he made an earnest request for urgent action to curtail the activities of harmful quacks.
The WONCA certificate being handed over by Dr. Karen Flegg to Dr. D.K.D. Mathew
The need of the hour, said Dr. Sri Ranjan, is a comprehensive ‘Medical Registry’ for GPs.
Raising another concern, he said that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a serious issue among the public. When he started practising as a GP the main problems were CDs but they have been brought under control through vaccination. Now, GPs have an “important” role to play in tackling NCDs such as diabetes and hypertension at primary care level.
He stressed that Family Physicians need to be competent and safe. They should not only bring a person from sickness to wellness but also be well-versed in the ‘Art of Healing’ which encompasses empathy, compassion, love and understanding.
A WONCA Certificate of Appreciation for Prof. Antoinette Perera from Dr. Karen Flegg
“As such, there is a need for proper training,” he said, urging that a regionally acceptable post-graduate training programme would be good.
Paying tribute to their “pioneering pioneers” for the good work done in the years gone by and also “jelling” with WONCA to set the sights wider, a Past President of CGPSL and WONCA SAR, Dr. Preethi Wijegoonewardene said it was good to see a nice “mix” of young and old GPs at the function. He also focused on the ‘50 years down the road’ for Sri Lanka’s GPs.
“We GPs truly perform our role as gate-keepers or watchdogs to the health system in each of our countries,” he said, thanking Prof. Shyamalee Samaranayaka, whom some know as the “Mighty Atom” and others as “Thumbelina”, for organizing the conference with expertise, skill and finesse.
A WONCA Certificate of Appreciation for Prof. Antoinette Perera from Dr. Karen Flegg
Health Secretary and Guest-of-Honour Dr. Palitha Mahipala also spoke, while the vote of thanks was given by CGPSL Secretary Dr. Dilini Ilapperuma Baranage.
A commemorative stamp was issued to mark the golden jubilee of the CGPSL.
Meanwhile, WONCA awarded a certificate to the CGPSL for 50 years of dedicated service and outstanding contributions to the field of General Practice in Sri Lanka. Certificates of Appreciation were also awarded for organizing the WONCA SAR Conference in Colombo to Dr. Mathew, Dr. Wijegoonewardene, Dr. Sri Ranjan, Prof. Samaranayaka, Dr. Pushpa Weerasinghe and Prof. Antoinette Perera.
Prof. Shyamalee Samaranayaka being awarded WONCA’s Certificate of Appreciation by Dr. Karen Flegg
The stamp issued to mark CGPSL’s golden jubilee
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