Ravi Kumudesh, Chairman of the Joint Council of Professions Supplementary to Medicine (JCPSM), has challenged Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa to a telivision debate over the ongoing crisis affecting the professions supplementary to medicine.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Kumudesh accused the Minister of avoiding critical discussions that could have resolved the issues currently gripping the healthcare sector. He said the JCPSM had launched a strike on June 5 in protest against what he described as politically biased decisions by Minister Jayatissa and Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe.
“Minister Jayatissa is deliberately avoiding engagement because he knows he has made a wrong decision,” Kumudesh said, warning that the strike, originally set to end on Friday, would now continue indefinitely.
He claimed the trade unions had been compelled to extend the strike due to the Minister’s “immature conduct” and lack of willingness to engage in dialogue. “No tangible action has been taken to fulfil promises made to the members of the professions supplementary of medicine regarding long-overdue promotions,” he said.
Kumudesh further accused the Minister of contradicting government policy in decisions concerning the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU). “The government’s decision on KDU medical graduates and the Minister’s contradictory stance on KDU public health graduates expose serious inconsistencies,” he charged. Calling for a high-level intervention, Kumudesh said that either the Prime Minister or the President must now step in to resolve the crisis. “If the Minister continues to avoid roundtable discussions, we challenge him to a public TV debate. Let him face the people and prove he’s right — if he can,” he added.Kumudesh said that the strike would not be called off unless formal discussions take place and concrete measures are taken to address their grievances.