GMOA – The ‘Corner Doctors’ of Sri Lanka !
This letter serves to lodge our condemnation and protest of GMOA Members’ Strike Action against the Singapore-Sri Lanka FTA. The Janarajaya (People’s Government) must initiate immediate action to take away the right of public servants in education, health and transport sectors to strike Action (meaning stopping work at their whims and fancies) – just like in the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Police!
GMOA Members have NO right whatsoever to intervene in the Governing of the country! They should not voice their opinion in public in any area other than their noble profession! We have elected 225 representatives to Parliament – Dogs should not undertake the duties of Donkeys, and vice versa. We could very well remember the GMOA protesting against the free ambulance service. What a disgrace? Why do they not want the poor peasant citizens in remote areas in Sri Lanka benefit? The SAITM issue is another matter. They do not wish to lose their foreign currency commissions from foreign universities paid on account of each new entrant. Several years ago, the Monash University was keen to establish in Sri Lanka. The Jealous Vicious Party canvassed against this Godsend and Monash went to Kuala Lumpur. What a loss to Sri Lanka – when you consider the income presently generated by Malaysia?
This is what happened last month. My wife was sick and I made use of a Private Emergency Medical Service for three days. They visited home – about two hours after the telephone call – three to four times a day and repeatedly nebulised the patient. The cost per visit was over Rs.3,000. On the fourth day, I mentioned to the GMOA member that I felt the patient was suffering from heart failure. Immediately he used the stethoscope again and said that he felt there’s fluid collected in the lungs and gave Lasix IV. He recommended immediate admittance to hospital. I readily agreed and requested an ambulance. In the panic moment I forgot 1990!
Here’s the pathetic unprofessional GMOA! The ambulance arrived; the stretcher could not be taken to the patient’s room. I cannot understand why they did not make use of a wheel chair. There were three steps from the room to the entrance of the house and the patient could have been carried on the three steps. The GMOA ‘dud fool’ wanted the patient with heart failure to walk the 40 feet distance to the ambulance, climbing three steps!
Over to the private old established hospital Emergency Treatment Unit. Doctors diagnosed irregular pulse and the patient was immediately admitted to Cardiac ICU – just past 12 noon. I stayed outside the Cardiac ICU until 5 pm, the next visiting time. When I went in my wife said, she was neither given any drugs/medication or Insulin. When I inquired from the GMOA Members present, the answer was that the blood sugar reading was 120 and therefore Insulin was not given. I was furious. What on earth do these GMOA Members know about handling a diabetic patient? I told them that I would tell Dr. Katulanda to preach the same doctrine to the GMOA as well as patients; we are told even if we are not hungry to eat a cream cracker and inject at least one unit of Insulin at the same time every day. Timing is extremely important. I told them of my prediction that by their inefficient non-professional conduct and negligence the patient would end up in the Medical ICU the following day for a 24-hour diabetic observation with sugar levels hitting over 600.
The following morning, the patient was transferred to a normal ward as the pulse and heart rate regularised. However, the sugar levels in the Glocometer read ‘high’ since it was over the maximum the meter could read. Dr Katulanda was summoned and he prescribed 15 units of quick-action Insulin every half hour – and within 2 hours the Glocometer reading was 480; within 24 hours sugar levels were back to normal.
We are a group of senior citizens retired from a foreign owned financial institution. Our salary in 1975 inclusive of overtime exceeded the Tax threshold of Rs. 500 per month and we forfeited our right to free rice ration and opened up personal income tax files. We have been tax payers for the last 43 years! Some of us are yet to receive tax refunds due from the year of assessment 1979/80 – This shows the lethargy or inefficiency of the Tax Department. In the new Millennium, by inhumane and unfair judgements we were shut out overnight from our Pensionable Employment without pension! We were only paid EPF on a 5% 10% rate instead of 8% 12% legal entitlement. Our appeals have fallen on deaf ears. We have no financial ability to file action in Courts. Some of us have very carefully invested our Provident Fund receipts during the last 18 years earning just above the tax threshold of Rs.50,000 per month and we remain tax payers to-date.
We have never received any compliments such as tax free car-permits – of course a few years ago we got a car sticker saying that we are Loyal Tax payers, but we are unable to afford maintaining a car! In contrast, the GMOA members receiving free education from our tax payments and receiving duty free ‘Transferable’ car permits every six years are duty bound to serve the nation. They have no right for strike action – leave aside their very low mentality of calling bus conductors and railway drivers to come out on strike in support of and sympathy for the GMOA.
Furthermore, after retirement we spend more hours with our hobbies. I am a Life Member of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka and keen on photography (mainly Wildlife). I purchased a camera bag ‘online’ from BH photo USA which was delivered by DHL Courier. At Sri Lanka Customs, this was categorised as a ‘Commercial Sample’ and I had to pay Duty and other levies to the tune of Rs. 35,000.
On another instance, when I ordered three wiper arms and blades for my old car since spares are not freely available, Sri Lanka Customs levied duty since this was a ‘commercial quantity’! Who are the ‘buffaloes’ who do not know that there are three windscreen wipers in a motor vehicle – two in front and one behind?
I must also add another recent incident. At the Gampaha Hospital a patient was discharged saying ‘no illness’ where the patient could feel a lump. Their X-rays or scans did not show any faults, they said. By using influence the patient entered the National Hospital Colombo –where the lump could be seen by the naked eye and also felt by GMOA members. Further investigations revealed it was cancer. On another patient at a private hospital the radiologist could not see a ‘tennis ball size’ fibroids in the Ultra Sound Scan. What on earth are these GMOA members paid for and other extra-special luxury car permits granted? Also, some of the Scanners (CT/MRI etc.) are malfunctioning at Colombo/Gampaha Hospitals and emergency Stroke patients are transferred by ambulance from pillar to post ending up at private hospitals in Ragama/Wattala/Talawathugoda etc. Why can’t GMOA members investigate the faults in the Health Administration and initiate remedial action?
The fact remains, GMOA is extremely selfish!
At present, they are aiding and abetting a regime change – GMOA is politicised!
We have no respect whatsoever for these GMOA ‘Corner Doctors’ (Condostaras)!
We earnestly urge the general public to support our cause for a Better Health Service for the general public – especially, the aged senior citizens!
Sgd. Group of Senior Citizens/Retired Financial Management Consultants.
Colombo 3.
Traffic Police responsible for accident
A motor accident occurred a few days ago – around 7 p.m. at an ‘unmarked’ pedestrian crossing on the Colombo-Kandy Road, at ‘Vissekanuwa’, (33rd km) Alutgama-Bogamuwa, Yakkala. The time was such, that we motorists have very poor vision at dusk on our extremely poorly-lit Sri Lankan motorways!
A girl was knocked down by a hit-and-run van. Visiting the accident-site later, I feel the traffic controlling authorities are to be blamed! Although the pedestrian crossing traffic-sign-boards are erected on either side at the edge of the road, drivers on the middle lanes cannot see them when tall vehicles, especially buses pass by. There are no yellow or white stripes across the road to indicate a Pedestrian Crossing! Up-to-date the van involved in the accident has not been traced!
The road is being widened in this area and thus road markings are obliterated. But, authorities with common sense (which is sadly lacking today! – whether in public or private enterprise) should have an alternative remedy/solution! Here’s an inexpensive solution!! Please take action immediately in the interest of the average Sri Lankan citizen! Take six empty tar barrels painted in luminous black and yellow; place four at the edge of the road – two on each side, at pedestrian crossings where road markings are not visible, so that pedestrians could walk in between them. Place the other two on the middle of the road to demarcate a mid-way boundary for onward/outward two way traffic – and to allow pedestrians to walk between these two barrels while crossing the road.
Over to you, Road Development Authority (RDA) officials/ DIG (Motor Traffic) and the IGP!
Senior Citizen,
Yakkala.
Selling items online
If you wish to sell items online, you need to select the items from a whole range of materials, products and services you can offer. All these must be pre-planned, and decided in order to achieve successful results.
The selections ought to be a variety of uncommon items, and they should be productive and modern which triggers a market value. The product with a higher market value is undoubtedly a saleable object.
Moreover, the physical features too have to be considered in order to attract customers into buying them online.
It is important to focus attention on studying it more closely, as to how one can release best quality products to the market, at a reasonable price with an inclusion of refund in order to create confidence in the buyer.
Many people are fascinated by the outlook which sometimes, is the case for deception. It’s not at all a prudent idea to deceive your buyer, since you’ll lose the market gradually.
There are rights for both sides which we need to adhere to, while engaging in trade. Selling items through T.V., magazines, newspapers or through the Internet, is not a big deal. What you present and how you present it, is more important, which would otherwise be a dream never met.
Neetha Gamage