Colombo, March 21 (IANS). Many countries of the world have started expressing the fear of fuel crisis due to Middle East tension. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan doctors and health workers have issued a warning.
According to leading daily Daily Mirror, health workers including doctors have described the next 48 hours as very important. He warned that if immediate measures were not taken to address fuel and transportation problems, Sri Lanka’s hospital system would be severely affected in the coming weeks; It may also stall.
Medical professionals stressed that hospital visits are necessary to maintain continuity of healthcare services. However, the ongoing fuel crisis has created huge problems for health staff trying to report for duty.
Doctors said that unlike other public sector employees, they are not given official transport or fuel allowances, and have to arrange their own transport for routine duties, standby shifts and emergency calls, which costs them a lot of money.
He also said that the current QR-based fuel rationing system is not sufficient, and the weekly share is not enough even for commuting. Additionally, precious time dedicated to patient care is being wasted in fuel lines.
Health workers also criticized the authorities for not taking any appropriate action despite being informed about the cases about a week ago. He said that health services are essential and they need continuous support.
Shortage of fuel and transport has started affecting the work of the hospital, due to which some doctors, specialists and staff are not able to report for duty.
The Executive Council of the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has said that it is closely monitoring the situation and will announce further decisions regarding the continuation of health services.
According to Daily FT, on March 15 also GMOA held a meeting and appealed to the government to resolve this issue immediately. A statement was also issued regarding this. The association had also urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to intervene.
In fact, keeping in mind the Middle East crisis, the Sri Lankan government took some steps, in which provisions like Wednesday public holiday, rationing of petrol and diesel, and QR-based fuel supply were made. The medical community is opposing the decision regarding oil. He says that many health workers come from long distances, and fuel rationing can create problems for them.
–IANS
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