Mujibur questions Health Services Director’s loyalties

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Deputy General Secretary Mujibur Rahman 

• Asks if his loyalty is towards the country’s patients or the subject Minister
• Claims health service is in decline due to an incapable Minister and corrupt officials
• Says the interests of multinational companies are being prioritised instead of patients 

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Deputy General Secretary Mujibur Rahman yesterday publicly questioned the allegiances of the Health Services Director, seeking clarification regarding their loyalties.

“Is his loyalty to the patients of this country or the subject Minister? Or is it to the corrupt who benefit by acting as agents for multinational drug companies?” he asked. 

Rahman slammed the Health Services Director for his recent actions relating to the patient death which occurred last week at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital. 

“When the patient died the use of the antibiotic adMinistered to her was stopped. The Director then paid a visit to the hospital and publicly said the drug Ceftriaxone can continue to be used. But just hours later two more patients reacted badly to it. He then once again ordered the hospital to discontinue its use,” he noted. 

Given his action, Rahman asked if the Director was serving the people that need protection or middlemen of multinational companies. 

Rahman expressed his view that crises have negatively impacted every sector in the country, including the free health service, which he claimed has deteriorated over the past two and a half years. He further alleged that the decline was a result of an incapable Minister and corrupt officials who have mismanaged the situation.

“As a consequence, innocent lives are being lost. While other countries prioritise their patients, our health service seems to prioritise the maintenance of professional monopolies and the interests of multinational companies,” he said. 

Rahman further accused the Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, of appointing multiple committees with the intention of concealing the true state of the country’s health service.