After the arrest of a top specialist, doctors at Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital have halted prescriptions for external medicines, demanding urgent Ministry action. With patients caught in the middle, the crisis exposes serious gaps in healthcare policy and legal protection for medical professionals.
Doctors at the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital have temporarily stopped prescribing external medications to patients, citing fears of legal repercussions and imprisonment.
According to hospital sources, the decision will remain in effect until the Ministry of Health issues formal guidelines outlining the process and legal framework for prescribing medicines sourced from outside the hospital’s supply system.
The move comes in the wake of the arrest and remand of Dr. Maheshi Wijeratne, a specialist attached to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, whose case has sent shockwaves through the medical community. Her legal situation has prompted concern among fellow physicians about the risks they face in fulfilling patient care duties without official clarity on legal procedures related to prescribing.
Medical officers have now decided to refrain from writing prescriptions for external medications until the Ministry of Health provides clear, documented criteria for doing so, stressing that without such protection, they cannot risk imprisonment.
“We cannot afford to go to jail for doing our job,” one doctor said, underlining the rising anxiety within the hospital.
Doctors raised their concerns at a recent meeting chaired by a senior Ministry of Health official. During the discussion, they reiterated that this measure is temporary and meant solely to protect both themselves and their patients from potential legal entanglements.
They stressed that their only demand is for the Ministry to take responsibility and ensure the safety of medical practitioners while safeguarding patient care.
In response, the senior Ministry official reportedly assured the medical staff that immediate steps would be taken to resolve the issue and that clear operational guidelines for prescribing external medication would be issued soon. The medical community now awaits swift and decisive action.
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