Arbitrary dismissal of slmc members 

Permit me some space to comment on the recent sacking of the President of the SLMC (Sri Lanka Medical Council), along with four other members.

The SLMC is an integral part of the machinery of Justice in the State. By an Act of Parliament, it is conferred powers to regulate the medical profession. Its mandate also includes protecting the health of the people. It is governed by the medical ordinance.

The SLMC consists of 25 nominated members: Deans, or nominees, of all medical and dental faculties, elected members, nominees of the Minister, representatives of dental practitioners, and a Representative of Persons Entitled to Practice Medicine, registered under section 41 of the Medical Ordinance and the Director General of Health Services in an ex officio capacity

Its functions include: 

A. Maintaining a register of Medical Practitioners, including Medical Specialists, as well as registers of the Allied Health Professions.

B. Maintenance of ‘minimum standards of medical education’.

C. Investigating complaints against those registered by the Medical Council, and, if found guilty, removing their names from the register, permanently, or for a specified period of time.

D. Performing other functions, which include “making representation to the Government on any matter connected with the medical profession in Sri Lanka.” 

Recently, The Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniaratchchi, appointed a committee of inquiry to examine some complaints against the Medical Council, made by a prominent trade union. The inquiring committee of five members had three members directly linked to this trade union. The report of the committee has still not been made available for perusal by the public, or the members of the SLMC.

It is supposedly on the basis of this report that the five members, nominated to the SLMC, by the previous Minister of Health, have been dismissed forthwith. The so-called committee of inquiry was a fact-finding inquiry and no specific charges were made against those dismissed and they were not given a chance to defend themselves

Before any medical practitioner’s name is erased from the medical register, the medical ordinance requires that they be given a chance to defend themselves, with the assistance of a lawyer. This is a principle of natural justice, applicable to both public and private sectors, which prevents sudden unexplained dismissals, without showing cause.

 It is noteworthy that this right of self-defence has not been extended to the dismissed members of the LMC. 

The SLMC members, who were dismissed, are highly respected members of the medical profession. No SLMC member is in there for financial benefits. They are not paid a wage, only a sitting allowance, a mere pittance in today’s terms, for attending meetings. They provide a service to the profession.

As I am informed, there is now a very strong influence of a trade union bearing upon functions of the SLMC. As much as trade union action is important in the life of a profession, any influence it has on the SLMC is counterproductive as the SLMC is mandated with disciplining members of the profession (including members of trade unions). The presence of trade union members, in the various disciplinary committees of the SLMC, will make these disciplinary inquiries a farce. 

This is the kind of undesirable situation the SLMC find itself today, the entity mandated to protect the health of the public and to regulate the profession.

What has taken place is against the legal provisions of the medical ordinance, harmful to the interests of the general public, and an insult to the medical profession.

May I call upon ALL medical professional bodies to take up this matter and express their views.

Professor Lalitha Mendis

Emeritus Professor University of Colombo and 

Past President of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC)