LRH to witness historic first-ever strike action today

• All services except emergency treatments to come to a halt 
• GMOA says strike action was declared over the conduct of specialist doctor at LRH
• Blames hospital director for failing to resolve issues leading to trade union measures 

In an unprecedented move, the doctors at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children will commence a strike today, marking the hospital’s first-ever instance of such action.

Announcing the decision, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge yesterday revealed that the strike was a direct result of the hospital administration’s inability to address the ongoing issues at the facility. 

The GMOA has attributed the immediate cause of the strike to the conduct of a Specialist doctor who oversees ward 8B at the hospital. Dr. Haritha Aluthge reiterated that the doctor’s persistent oppressive behaviour towards the staff has gone unaddressed by the authorities, leaving the GMOA with no choice but to resort to a strike as their final course of action. “Not even a medical student is willing to be assigned to the ward due to her behaviour,” he said. 

Accusing the Hospital Director of surpassing the authority of the Health Services Director, Dr. Haritha Aluthge placed the blame squarely on the Director for instigating the strike action at the hospital.

Dr. Haritha Aluthge said that despite assurances from the Health Services Director to address the issue no resolution was achieved. Nevertheless, he expressed the willingness of the GMOA to accept any proposed resolution before 8 a.m. on the day of the scheduled strike.

In the event of a failure to reach a resolution by the specified time, the doctors will initiate a 24-hour token strike, during which all services, including outpatient treatments, will cease. Dr. Haritha Aluthge clarified that only emergency cases will be attended to during this period.