The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you.

¶ 02 Hon. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, you must be tired of hearing all this; I will not attack you. I will acknowledge the good steps you have taken.

¶ 03 Greetings! This is the month of Karthigai; I begin by invoking our deities.

¶ 04 As the last Opposition speaker in this Committee debate on the Health Ministry—like a reply speech—I am happy. I am a doctor; I also worked in this very system at Green Memorial Hospital, the first medical school in Sri Lanka, in Manipay, founded in 1848 by Samuel Fisk Green—historically significant. Please protect it.

¶ 05 I have previously raised five corruption issues in the Northern health sector. Regarding Jaffna Teaching Hospital, I gave you documents of an illicit account collecting funds; no action. About Point Pedro Hospital—Rs. 38.8 million—again I provided the Commercial Bank account number; no action. Tellippalai Hospital had an account opened; Dr. Ketheeswaran deposited funds; in 2021 an audit was done; a contract went to Kamalam Builders via the then GMOA Secretary—contrary to Government procurement. On Chavakachcheri Base Hospital too—I will not repeat all details now.

¶ 06 I am genuinely pleased you are Minister; I even wish to see you as President one day—if not now, perhaps 2030 or 2035. We will support you. The reality is that everywhere there are shortages—beds, doctors, everything. Ministers receive endless local demands, but the national scarcity is the core constraint.

¶ 07 On eye health, I moved an Adjournment Motion on Malaravan Ayya’s Eye Health Policy; please look at it. On Northern nursing staff, please do not harass staff to extract work; a good administrator gets results by keeping teams content.

¶ 08 On indigenous medicine: around 2,000 graduates are idling; this failure is ours collectively. Take time and craft a master plan; we will fully support. On homoeopathy: there is litigation; some unqualified people practise while qualified ones are unemployed—please examine.

¶ 09 Digitalisation: in 2022, under Dr. Arjuna Thilakarathne, Peradeniya Teaching Hospital won the South-East Asia Award for a digital health project—done in my MO unit. Replicate this nationally. You cannot do everything yourself; ensure your team has responsibility and accountability.

¶ 10 Compare Northern base hospitals with those in the South; for example, lifts exist in Kalutara, but not in Northern hospitals—address such gaps gradually. Trincomalee Hospital’s mortuary coolers are non-functional, forcing bodies to be transported 40–50 km—please look into this.

¶ 11 Upgrading a hospital is not merely changing a signboard; it requires buildings, expanded OTs, wards, and services—work that can take 10 years. Please state this clearly in your reply to manage expectations.

¶ 12 I also want to share a personal matter. My father served in the Police from 1966 to 1983, later worked with the LTTE from 1989 to 2009. In 2009 he was wounded; his leg was amputated below the knee without anaesthesia. He was moved from Puthumathalan to Trincomalee Hospital via ICRC, then to Padaviya. I was a Peradeniya medical student then. We could not find him afterwards; his BHT was missing; the Coroner reported he saw him under an Anuradhapura case, but we still have no closure. I filed complaints with the UN and ICC. I tell this openly to the Sinhala people: even if you consider him an enemy, he is my father; I seek only the truth of his fate.

¶ 13 In June 2024, I was removed from an administrative post; after I investigated a maternal death in Mannar one night, I was transferred and later remanded for 19 days; VOP was not served though I was absent for over a month; now AG says I am still in service. If I erred, serve VOP properly; do not politicise.

¶ 14 On Clean Sri Lanka—have any in the North been arrested under it, despite rampant corruption? On vehicle permits: MOs are SL Grade-2; consultants SL Grade-3; yet we have no vehicle or permits, while others enjoy benefits without clear grades. If doctors leave, what then? Many can work abroad; RACMA in Australia offers high salaries. If you can, gazette that every hospital is a national hospital—that would end all demands; but that is not how systems work. I ask only for fairness. If work is to be done in the North and East under your Ministry, we will deliver.

¶ 15 Thank you so much.