Safety and security of PHIs must be taken seriously

The heinous murder of the Treasurer of the Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI)s Union Roshan Kumara Vitanage, who was shot dead in February at his home in Elpitiya has filled PHIs with insecurity and fear.

Head of the PHI’s Union Upul Rohana said they have received many queries from members about the status of the investigations into the case amidst fear that the murder was related to the work carried out by the deceased officer.

Rohana said that despite assurances from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that investigations have been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Special Task Force (STF), they see little progress in the investigation so far and no motive has been found.

He revealed at a press briefing recently that the deceased PHI had been handling several high-profile legal cases connected to the unhygienic standards of food served at some establishments and there are fears that his death was linked to these cases and was meant to intimidate other PHIs from carrying out their work.

The 1,710-member strong Public Health Inspectors and Administrative Public Health Inspectors Union is over 100 years old having started in 1913 as the Sanitary Branch of the Medical Department with six Sanitary Inspectors.

Since then, the Union has grown in numbers and its members have been in the forefront of preventive programs including during the malaria epidemic of 1934/35, eradication of polio and curbing many other communicable diseases. During the COVID pandemic, PHIs risked their lives to ensure that the preventative measures put in place were adhered to by the public and hence played a major role in keeping the spread of the disease under control.

PHIs are also in the forefront of the dengue prevention programs, visiting homes to check for mosquito breeding sites, carrying out awareness programs and implementing the laws relating to dengue prevention. There have been many incidents where PHIs have been threatened and even faced violence when they were on inspection duties under the dengue eradication program.

Hence the concerns about their personal security are valid given that a senior member of the PHI’s union has been murdered in cold blood, shot dead in his own home in front of his wife and child. This murder no doubt has raised fears among them and rightly so given that there is slow progress into the investigation.

Sri Lanka Government healthcare service is held up by many pillars and along with the doctors, nurses, attendants, midwives, technicians etc., the PHIs also hold up a vital sector in the service.

While doctors and nurses get a lot of credit as it should be, the others must not be forgotten. There is little appreciation of those in the lower rungs of the service for the vital work they carry out, without which the free healthcare system would not function as efficiently as it does now.

Often, we hear of PHIs, and minor employees of hospitals when they go on strike demanding better wages or better working conditions, but little thought is given to the difficult tasks that they attend. They usually draw more criticism than appreciation from the public even though they play a crucial role in the healthcare system.

Hence the concerns raised by the PHI’s union regarding their safety and security must be taken seriously. However mighty and powerful those they come up against are, the men and women of this service must have the freedom to go about their work without hindrance or fear of violence. No public sector worker must have to pay with their life for the work they carry out.