Private Medical College  challenges its critics

February 2, 2012, 12:00 pm , The Island.

The South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) more popularly known as the Malabe Private Medical College yesterday urged mud-slinging and malicious medical associations not to mislead people about the status of the PMC. Its Director, Dr.Sameera Senaratna, challenged them to produce evidence as to whether the Malabe PMC was lacking any of the requirements for medical education.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) had given degree awarding status to the Malabe PMC. But in accordance with the provisions of the Sri Lanka Medical Ordinance, the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) could not register the PMC as it lacked a hospital for its students to do their clinical studies. But the PMC management was hopeful that the SLMC, under present administration, would do justice in the near future once the new 1,002 bed hospital is commissioned, Dr Senaratna told a media Conference held at PMC auditorium on January 31.

He said that some professional medical associations had been on the warpath against the PMC since its establishment because they were under the impression that a surplus of doctors would be produced by the college. They were self-centred and were hell bent on obstructing more doctors being produced by the private sector.

The Malabe PMC invited anti-Malabe PMC organizations to show the management any fault, shortcomings or lapses, then it would be able to rectify them. But instead of constructive criticism, some medical personnel had resorted to misleading people. Even medical experts’ sons and daughters were students of the Malabe PMC, he said.

PMC Chairman Dr. Nevil Fernando said that a highly sophisticated teaching hospital at a cost of Rs.1.8 billion was being constructed near the PMC. It would be opened in April 2012. The medical students of the PMC would be able to do their clinical training there. "This is not a business. I am the person who built the PMC to provide better medical education. I am not doing this for personal rewards because I am convinced that this is a very worthy cause," Dr.Fernando stressed.

He said that when a person was contributing to the welfare of the society, rival forces would try everything to nip the person’s projects in the bud. But they would one day realize the importance of the person and repent.

Already a transfer deed has been executed to bequeath the new hospital to the government after his death, Dr. Fernando said.