In the aftermath of the unprecedented and unceremonious dismissal of the chairman and quasi director of Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) from a meeting they themselves convened to oust the three honest specialists who have consistently resisted the illegal ‘appointment ‘ of the said quasi director, things have reportedly taken a berserk turn, Colombo Telegraph reliably learns. 

Senaratne with Health minister Senaratne

The quasi director, not seen in the hospital premises in the aftermath of this embarrassing incident was reportedly loitering around Rajitha Senaratne along with the chairman, Dr Athula Kahandaliyanage. They have been begging the minister to sack the three honest consultants, namely, Dr Kanishka Indraratne, Dr Madhawa Karunaratne and Dr Prabhath Ambawatte, who are standing their ground about the occupation of the office of director SJGH by a totally unqualified Dr Susitha Senaratne.  

Susitha Senaratne, noted lackey of Rajitha Senaratne was a medical officer in the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and was running a small private practice in Malambe prior to occupying the office of Director SJGH through political thuggery. He has no academic or professional qualifications to hold his current office. 

Quasi Director Gone Berserk!

Susitha Senaratne having failed in his bid to show his political muscle by getting such letter issued by Rajitha Senaratne has posted on Facebook stating SJGH a dangerous place for children to be treated at. This move is believed to be due to his rift with Prof. Rohan Aloysius who has been standing up against the illegal appointment of Susitha Senaratne and also has been a vocal resister of the corruption and financial mismanagement under the current Chairman. In response, Susitha Senaratne has resorted to the dirty trick of cyber bullying and defaming the hospital on Facebook. 

Susitha Senaratne in violation of the Hospital Act, medical ethics and common law of the land has posted the following statement of his Facebook page stating that the children undergoing treatment in his own hospital where he claims to be the ‘director’, is unsafe for their lives. 

Retaliation Of Specialists And Staff

The specialists at SJGH have been prompt in their retaliation towards this unprecedented harm done to the hospital by its quasi director instilling fear and mistrust among the public about the hospital. They have communicated to Kahandaliyanage their severe protest about this act of violation of the law, medical ethics and the Hospital Act by Susitha Senaratne. However, even the chairman, Kahandaliyanage has not been able to contact Susitha Senaratne during work hours. A written protest calling for disciplinary action about the quasi director’s conduct, singed by all categories of staff has been submitted to the Chairman SJGH. 

Inferiority Complex Of An Unqualified

A specialist who wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons stated “for the first time in the history of SJGH here we have a so called director categorically stating that children can die at SJGH. What qualifications or data have he to make such a dangerous statement? Also for the first time in hospital history here is a so called director who is uncontactable by the Chairman. He is present on Facebook but nowhere else. All the secretaries of the Ministry of Health since 2015, corrupt Kahandaliyanage, dishonest members of the Board and the Minister of Health who have protected this stooge are all responsible for this destruction of a government institution. Susitha Senaratne is a  political stooge who has got here by being a servant to Rajitha Senaratne and he  cannot be expected to respect a professional. His lack of education and inferiority complex make him attack specialists”. 

Veiled Death Threats To A Specialist

The Facebook post where Senaratne calls SJGH an unsafe place for children to be treated refers to Prof. Aloysius (by inference) as a pig. This term, derogatory to any human. It also poses serious concerns about the maturity and the mental stability of the quasi director. A senior medical administrator at the Ministry of Health contacted by Colombo Telegraph over this issue stated “this is the danger of unqualified persons assuming positions that they do not have the qualifications or the maturity to handle.  Susitha Senaratne is snapping under pressure because he has nothing to hold on to”. 

The comments in the infamous Facebook post amount to threats to life, dismemberment of body parts, humiliating comments referring to body image, harmful to the dignity of any human being and a medical professional. 

Response Of The Ministry

The staff of the office of Rajitha Senaratne has noted this violation of ethics and the law by the lackey of the minister and had try to damage control by informing Susitha Senaratne to take down the post, Colombo Telegraph reliably learns. It is further reported that since Susitha Senaratne was not contactable by the minister’s office either. Multiple sources at the Ministry of Health confirmed that the Public Relations Officer of Rajitha Senaratne, Dr Upul Gunasekera, has been trying to contact Senaratne unsuccessfully. Upul Gunasekera is a close associate of Susitha Senaratne who accompanied the latter to Singapore on a “medical consultation” when Senaratne crashed his vehicle in to a wall of the hospital in a state of “stupor”.  

Stance Of The Association of Medical Specialists

The President of the Association of Medical Specialists Dr Sunil Wijayasinghe confirmed to Colombo Telegraph that a protest letter regarding this serious misconduct has been sent to the Minister of Health.

Letter of No Confidence By SJGH Specialists

Meanwhile today (22.10.2018) the majority of the specialists in SJGH delivered a letter of no confidence on Athula Kahandaliyanage and Susitha Senaratne based on their illegal and unethical conduct in protecting the minister’s lackey for over three years, violating the law, medical ethics, administrative guidelines, medical services minutes, the hospital act and common decency. The letter of no confidence was delivered to Minister of Health Rajitha Senaratne, Secretary Ministry of Health and the private secretary of the minister. (By Chinthika De Silva)