• Hosp. assures docs’ attendance to patient despite TU action 

The Health Ministry has launched an investigation to ascertain whether an intrauterine fetal death reported at the District General Hospital (DGH) in Trincomalee was caused by an alleged failure of doctors to attend to a patient during recent trade union (TU) action launched by a medical officers' TU.

Sources privy to the matter told The Daily Morning that there had been such a death at the Trincomalee DGH, with allegations suggesting the situation arose after doctors attached to the relevant TU did not attend to the patient.

However, when contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (21), the Hospital Director Dr. Sandamali Samarakoon rejected allegations that doctors had failed to attend to the patient due to TU action. “The allegation the doctors did not attend to the patient is not true. Consultant obstetricians and gynaecologists were in the Hospital and they attended to the patient. There are instances where such deaths occur even when doctors attend to patients,” she said.

She further noted that the Ministry had already initiated an inquiry into the incident and that the exact cause could only be determined once the investigation is completed.

The reports emerged amid a series of TU actions including strikes carried out by medical officers in recent weeks over several demands.