The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has decided to call off their island-wide token strike, which was scheduled to commence at 8:00 a.m. today (August 25) in all government hospitals.

The decision to call off the strike follows discussions and a written assurance from the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.

Meanwhile, on August 24, the GMOA noted that  the strike is being launched considering the risk of hospitals in remote areas closing down, the direct influence exerted by the government on patients to purchase scarce medicines, and the threat of the collapse of the free healthcare system caused by the failure to provide hospitals with quality medicines and essential equipment.

In a statement, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) claimed that the process of transferring doctors and assigning them to remote areas has almost completely collapsed, owing to the irregular, inefficient, and non-transparent practices within the Ministry of Health.

However, the Secretary of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa, stated that last night (24), the GMOA held a special discussion with Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa and the Secretary to the Ministry of Health.

According to Dr. Prabath Sugathadasa, following the discussions, the Association decided to call off their island-wide token strike based on the written assurance given by the Minister to fulfill their demands.