January 26, Colombo (LNW): The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has said it was left with no alternative but to resort to professional action after assurances given by the Minister of Health during earlier discussions were not honoured, despite being formally recorded in writing.
Speaking to the media, GMOA Secretary Dr Prabath Sugathadasa insisted that responsibility for any disruption to routine patient services rests squarely with the Ministry of Health, the Health Minister and the government. He argued that the situation could have been avoided had the authorities acted on the commitments they themselves had made.
Dr Sugathadasa recalled that during the national budget debate, the Minister of Health had pledged to formally recognise medical professionals as a specialised service category — covering specialist consultants, medical officers across grades and administrative doctors — along with the introduction of a separate salary structure. However, he said this proposal has yet to receive Cabinet approval.
He also noted that several related matters, including revisions to duty allowances, converting additional duty payments into permanent allowances and absorbing them into basic salaries, were due for discussion with Treasury officials by January 05, 2026. According to the GMOA, no meaningful response has been forthcoming, even after repeated reminders.
Against this backdrop, and following what the association described as an unsatisfactory outcome from a recent two-day token strike, the GMOA decided to move ahead with a series of five trade union actions. Dr Sugathadasa stressed that emergency care would not be affected and that doctors would not take any action that could place patients’ lives at risk.
The measures announced include refraining from issuing prescriptions for medicines unavailable at hospital clinics or outpatient departments that must be purchased from private pharmacies; declining to recommend laboratory tests that cannot be carried out within the state hospital system; withholding approval for the establishment of new hospital units where the required number of doctors has not been sanctioned; withdrawing participation from clinics or health camps organised for political purposes; and stepping away from duties in hospitals, clinics and OPDs where doctors are not provided with adequate assisting staff to support patient examinations.
The GMOA maintains that these steps are intended to highlight systemic shortcomings and compel authorities to act on long-standing commitments, rather than to inconvenience patients.
