Another step towards democracy !

Why is this letter important ?

Because this letter demarcates the line between the democratic pathway and the tyranny !

We do not need a boss who impose his opinion forcibly on others,but need a dear leader who can make flowers bloom based on consensus opinion of our members!

Hail to GMOA ! Hail to unity of the members !

The bitter truth !

This is a picture taken at a peripheral hospital.
This is just one out of dozens of motor cycles with the Dr Stickers there.
Some body may think that this mode of transport shows the fact how simple and down to earth these doctors are.
But it is far-off from the truth.
The increasing tendency among doctors is to use more and more motor cycles. The deteriorating financial status does not allow the ordinary doctor to use a car.

I was dreaming of a day when a doctor is given a car from the 1 st day of their service.
Suddenly I was brought back to the reality by a call from a doctor at Seru vila.
Being a doctor who is not having any extra duty payments, his financial status is such that he is using a bicycle to reach his working place which is many miles away from his place of stay.

TRUTH IS BITTER, DO NOT BE ANGRY WITH ME FOR REVEALING IT,
There is nothing to hide, because the society knows the true situation of the present day doctor.

BUT DOES THE PRESENT GMOA EX CO KNOW THIS!
Do they care a bit !!!!!

The beggar’s Ulcer-"Saturday Off"

Recently NEWS Items appear saying that the Minister who is in charge of the private sector employees is working on to establish Saturday as a public holiday for private sector employees.
http://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=11072

For the last many years the NEWS item of “Saturday off “had been continuously appearing at the GMOA NEWS letter.
The committee on this matter was convened by Dr Nalin Ariyaratne and Dr Parakrama Warnakula and a successful pilot project was implemented at Cancer hospital Maharagama and Negombo hospital.
It had been proved beyond any reasonable doubts that “The concept of Saturday off” can be implemented successfully without causing any deterioration in the health care system.
Now the time of implementing it island wide has come.

BUT what we can witness now is the “LACK OF COURAGE “from the side of the Ex co.
GMOA ex co has evaded form taking necessary steps to press the ministry to issue the Saturday off circular.Instead they are trying to make this issue the non healing beggar’s Ulcer!

No more pilot projects please-implement Saturday off Island wide!

Say yes to CPD But not to revalidation

CPD is a must.
After being qualified from the Medical Faculty most of our doctors stop learning. The doctors who do post graduate education may continue learning for few more years until they get their board certification, then it also comes to an end.

Then the lifelong academic sleep starts. Grade medical officers start getting “Chronic”. No difference in the case of consultants as well.

So there is no argument that this practice must come to an end.

We should be “Up to date “at any given time. We should keep our standards up-both at National and International levels.

Hence WE say “YES” to Continuous medical development (CPD).

Bird sees the grain not the trap !

Many many years back Dr. Sunil Seneviratne Epa visited GMOA general committee.
At that time none of the present day big bosses were at the GMOA.
His idea was to enlighten the General committee on Revalidation!He was genuinly backing CPD.


It was like a site following a bomb blast.All the attempts of making CPD a mandatory component for re registration of the SLMC membership was defeated at that general committee meeting!
Dr. Shantha Abeywickrama from Ratnapura(now working abroad) and Dr.Milroy of Kegalla(now at Gampaha District B.U) were among the worriers!
I was also among the many proud branch sec. who contributed at that meeting....!

Why was that attempt defeated?

These were among the reasons!

1.That CPD programme was directly linked to SLMC registration.
2.No mechanism of providing facilities to the doctors was linked to this.
3.No additional benifits were given to the doctors who join this programme.
4.The democratic pathway was not followed during the formation of the
programme.No doctors opinions were considered.
5.practical aspectes were not given the due consideration.The doctors in the
peripheries were cornered and were put in to a deeper trouble!

CPD linked revalidation was defeated not to come for many more years!

No short cuts in democracy

Even with certain criticisms, I consider that the GMOA had been a democratic organization.
Any way there is no doubt that the GMOA should definitely be a democratic organization.
No sensible doctor will protest this widely accepted concept of democracy.
The democratic process of decision making at the GMOA network is a “Majority based” democracy.

1 Regular Branch union meetings should be conducted by properly elected branch union
officials

2.Branch union decisions are taken by the majority decision at a well attended
branch meeting.

3.General committee meetings are held regularly (once a month)

4.Every branch is given a an equal hearing.

5.Each branch union is represented by the president (or the Secretary) + an
additional number of representations are given depending on the number of
members in the branch

6.Decision of the Majority becomes The decision of the GMOA.

7.The decision is conveyed to all the branches

8.Implementation of the decision is done by the ex co / general committee/all the
members.

What is the present practice at the GMOA now, Next time we will discuss it in detail !

Good boys !

Facts about the ( DAT )transport allowance
*A sum of Rs 21,000/= was approved in 2007
*Due to the "WAR" related financial crisis we were given only 10,000/=
*Since we were already getting Rs 5000/= ,The rise was Rs 5000/=.

Now almost 4 years has passed.But the "promise" still is a promise.

Let us see what will happen if our allowance is increase up to Rs.21,000/= NOW.
Still there will be a huge arrears left behind.

The arrears will be 4x12x11000 = 528,000/=
That means each doctor has got an arrears of Rs 528,000/=

If some other union had to face a similar situation-what will they do?
They will ask for the balance from the govt.every day,every month and every year.
They will go on trade union actions if the allowance is not paid.
They will never ever compromise getting their arrears.

But what have the docs done as a trade union?
They are shy to ask what is due,
They are really afraid to ask for it,
WHY ?Because "THEY" want to be The GOOD BOYS.........

They are good boys indeed!Because they have already saved lot of money for the govt.even your pockets are empty !