Deputy Health Minister Dr Hansaka Wijemuni said health sector officers required to wear prescribed uniforms must perform their duties in those uniforms, while requests to modify them for cultural, climatic or other reasons should be referred to the Health Ministry’s Uniform Committee.
Responding to questions from The Daily Morning on the recent controversy at the Kalmunai North Base Hospital, Dr Wijemuni said yesterday (17) that the Ministry had received the matter last week but had not become directly involved as he was unaware of the exact circumstances.
“I don’t know exactly what happened in this incident or who stopped them from working. But, the issue is related to the uniform,” he said.
Wijemuni said the Ministry had a clear policy on uniforms, with some categories of health workers required to wear prescribed uniforms while others were not.
“There are nearly 300 professions in the health sector. Some have uniforms while others don’t. Those who don’t have uniforms can come to work in appropriate clothing. For example, clerical staff don’t have a prescribed uniform,” he said.
However, he stressed that officers whose professions required them to wear uniforms had to wear the prescribed uniform while performing their duties.
“There may be difficulties in wearing a uniform or there may be reasons for requesting a change. Sometimes, these could be due to climatic or cultural reasons. In such cases, they should appeal to the Uniform Committee and explain that they cannot wear the uniform in its existing form and request the change that they need,” Dr Wijemuni said.
He stressed that individuals could not decide to modify a prescribed uniform on their own, adding that any requested change should be considered by the Uniform Committee.
Dr Wijemuni cited the example of a Sikh person joining the health service, saying that if there was a cultural or religious requirement concerning an item of clothing, the matter should be referred to the Uniform Committee.
He said such matters could eventually develop into sensitive ethnic issues and stressed the importance of following the proper procedure when requesting changes to prescribed uniforms.
Meanwhile, the National Shoora Council (NSC), in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya, called for an immediate inquiry into the incident reported at the Kalmunai North Base Hospital on 10 August.
The NSC urged the Prime Minister to issue immediate directives to the hospital administration to allow the affected officers to assume and discharge their duties in accordance with Public Administration Circular No. 13/2019(I).
It also called on the Ministry to conduct an immediate inquiry and take appropriate administrative action against those responsible for allegedly obstructing the officers.
The NSC further urged that a “re-clarificatory directive” be issued to all heads of public institutions and regional health authorities on strict compliance with the existing Circular provisions to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.