MICU Of The Kalubowila Teaching Hospital Has Been Crippled Due To Transferring Of Seven doctors

The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital has been crippled since last week due to the transferring of seven of the senior medical officers attached there to other hospitals without any replacement according to hospital sources.

Due to this situation new admissions to the MICU has been suspended the sources added.as the health ministry secretary Dr.Nihal Jayathilake has instructed all medical administrators of government hospitals through a circular to implement annual doctors transfers with or without replacements medical administrators too transferred some senior medical officers attach to special units in hospitals without awaiting for the replacements sources added.

As a result patients getting treatment from government hospitals are suffering heavily government doctors said.

Supreme Court Has Issued An Interim Order To Prevent Printing Pictorial Warnings In Cigarette Packets

The Supreme Court has today(20) issued an interim order preventing the implementation of printing pictorial warnings on  the cigarette packets covering 80% of the packet space.The Ministry Of Health has issued a gazette notification in August 2012 stating the need to carry pictorial warnings in front of cigarette packets on deadly diseases caused by smoking .

However the Tobacco Companies operating in Sri Lanka have filed a case in Supreme Court against the gazette notification by stating that the companies do not have enough time to produce their opinion on the decision and carrying pictorial warnings on cigarette packets covering 80% of the space is not practical enough.

The  three Judge Panel of the Supreme Court who were heard this case today compromising Judges Eva Wanasundera,Sathya Hettige and Salim Mershook have issued the interim order preventing  implementing the  Gazette Notification regarding carrying pictorial warnings until 22nd January 2014.the court proceeding scheduled to  be resumed on that day.

The Minister Of Health has been recently received an international award from World Health Organization for signing the said gazette notification to implement pictorial warnings in cigarette packets.

The Buddhist Clergy too urged the government last week to implement the said gazette notification without any delay.