Jaffna hospital docs trade allegations

June 15, 2012, 9:53 pm , the island.

By Don Asoka Wijewardena

Jaffna Teaching Hospital Consultant Oncologist Dr. Nadaraja Jayakumaran yesterday accused the present hospital administration of damaging his residence after he revealed a plethora of irregularities and malpractices in the hospital.

On June 14 at about 1.30 a.m. a gang had shattered the windows of his residence and smeared the walls with burnt engine oil.

He had complained to the Jaffna police and two constables had been detailed to guard his residence.

Jaffna police were investigating the attack, the Government Medical Officers’ Association said.

Dr. Jayakumaran told The Island that the present hospital administration was involved in massive corrupt practices such as selling hospital property to outsiders for a song, defrauding public money, mismanaging wards by giving priority to the hospital director’s favourites and refusing to accept the appointments of an oral maxilo-facial surgeon, oncologist and senior registrar.

He said that the hospital had recently sold six iron girders to a person for Rs. 1 million. A generator which could supply electricity during black outs had been taken to a press, located in the Jaffna city, with the consent of the hospital director. It was later found that the generator was sold to the press. A few CEB engineers had been detailed to attend to the repairs at the hospital. But, without calling them, the management had sold the generator to a private press.

The Health Ministry appointed a consultant oncology surgeon, oral maxillary surgeon and a few senior registrars, but the hospital director had rejected the appointments for reasons known only to him.