The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on Monday warned it would continue its work-to-rule campaign despite what it described as “fruitful discussions” with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, saying concrete action was needed when the 2026 Budget faces its final vote.
GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Hansamal Weerasooriya said the union met the president on November 17 to raise concerns over retaining doctors in the state health service, as well as allowances and other benefits that had been reduced or left unchanged.
He said medical staff had long exceeded their official duties to keep the public health system functioning amid rising patient loads, long surgical waiting lists and shortages of essential medicines.
Weerasooriya said doctors were increasingly forced to write prescriptions for drugs unavailable in hospital pharmacies and recommend laboratory tests from private facilities, but noted that such actions carried no legal protection.
“We have overlooked these issues for years to uphold patient care, but the government has paid little attention. We have now decided not to go out of our way any longer,” he said.
Under the GMOA’s ongoing trade union action, doctors will avoid duties outside their official service descriptions, including issuing prescriptions to be filled at private pharmacies or directing patients to external labs.
Responsibility for ensuring drug availability and testing capacity, he said, lies with the Health and Mass Media Ministry.
“We will not stick our necks out,” Weerasooriya said, adding that the union’s action would continue until the government addresses what he called problems created by the “careless” treatment of doctors in the Budget.
Leave a comment