Don’t recognise SAITM degree – SLMC | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150913/news/dont-recognise-saitm-degree-s...

Home Archive Feeds Contact Us Feeds Editorials Times Online

NEWS COLUMNS EDITORIAL SUNDAY TIMES 2 PLUS SPORTS BUSINESS TIMES MAGAZINE FUNDAY TIMES ADVERTISE

Archive Feeds Contact Us Sunday, September 13, 2015

News
Don’t recognise SAITM degree – SLMC
Night traffic in the Megapolis
Says clinical facilities at private hospital insufficient
View(s):
The scandal of the missing millions

The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) has urged the Health Ministry not to recognise medical degrees UNHRC report: No names but strong indictments
awarded by the South Asian Institute of Technology & Medicine (SAITM), facing accusations of a faulty
approval process, saying the private medical faculty has insufficient clinical facilities. CEPA talks during Ranil-Modi summit

The council in a September 4, 2015 letter to Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, said a report by its Megapolis Authority to be set up
Inspection Team concluded that clinical facilities, an essential requirement for potential doctors, are
unsatisfactory at the Malabe medical faculty and thus the degrees should not be recognised. This is the Formula coming, oil price reduction soon: Minister

very first time that the SLMC has visited the Malabe medical faculty.
Ministry subjects and functions to be worked out within a
“Based on the evaluation, the consensus of the council is that the number of cases students are exposed to week
is far from satisfactory and that the case numbers must go up by at least five times and should comprise a
‘mix of patients’ representative of all the major problems commonly encountered in practice,” said the letter Ministry secretaries: No change in extension policy
and report to the Minister. It added: “The SLMC evaluated the findings of the Inspection Team and
recommends to the Minister of Heath that the degree awarded by SAITM should not be recognised for the Fences don’t work for elephants, say villagers but
minister wants more in short term
purpose of registration under the Medical Ordinance.”
Excessive speed, recklessness, disregard for road
In the SLMC’s first-ever inspection of the facility, the team reported that the lack of clinical facilities was rules claim 60 lives this month
being compensated by: (a) use of clinical skills lab; (b) use of role play and simulated cases; and (c) clinical
rotations in other private hospitals – students being assigned to identified consultants in other private Truck crashes into van killing three-year-old
hospitals, among others. “However, none of these methods can compensate for insufficient patient
Electrocuted construction worker falls to his death
turnover,” it said.

The saltie that terrorised Rawatawatte

The recommendation once again blocks SAITM’s efforts to formalise its teaching and clinical programme in
line with local regulatory rules. Clinical training, where medical undergraduates get real-life experiences in
Deportees from Kuwait and Saudi on the rise
all forms of patient care and operations, is a pre-requisite for medical practice in State hospitals. The
SLMC, by law, is the regulatory authority on medical education in Sri Lanka. Woman killed in revenge attack, 7 injured in gang war

Ever since SAITM secured Board of Investment approval first as a technical college and later added a Freshers, former Ministers, senior members made
medical faculty, it has encountered problems with the authorities and the SLMC which has faulted the State/Deputy Ministers
institute for not following a proper registration process.
The Hague sentences five Tigers for fundraising

A recognised one-year’s internship, after obtaining a recognised medical degree, is mandatory to register
Ragging makes mockery of free education
with the SLMC as a doctor. The desk-evaluation of SAITM by the SLMC was handled by a team of three
professors representing pre-clinical, para-clinical and clinical disciplines and the 10-member SLMC A Royal toast
Inspection Team comprising academics as well as clinicians visited SAITM and its Neville Fernando
Teaching Hospital (NFTH) on July 13-15, 2015, at the request of SAITM Chairman Dr. Neville Fernando. Rat killers, kerosene lead this year in household
poisons
The report said the NFTH has 850 beds, of which only 200 have been commissioned, another reason why
there is inadequate clinical training for students. “According to information supplied by SAITM, since Civil Society members of CC up for Parliamentary
approval on Sept.22
admissions in 2009, the first seven batches (363 students) are undergoing clinical training in the NFTH
wards. Clearly so many students having access to so few patients cannot be expected to receive adequate Varsity leadership training exercise cancelled: Kiriella
clinical training. This is in startling contrast to what obtains in the State medical faculties where there is a
large number and variety of patients in our hospitals for students to learn the techniques of medical Italian police shut down unauthorised Lankan school in
Naples
diagnosis and treatment,” it said.

Lanka plays prominent role with war on tobacco high

The main deficiencies observed by the SLMC Inspection Team were — general inadequacy of clinical on agenda
exposure in all areas in terms of numbers and case mix, which were of grave concern. In particular,
exposure to trauma in surgery, common surgical emergencies and obstetrics and gynaecology, as well as Half-boiled solution, say paddy farmers as PMB ups
exposure to emergencies in adult medicine and paediatric care is lacking. The faculty is making an attempt buying limit
to overcome these deficiencies but it is still insufficient at present, the report said.

1 of 2 7/17/2016 9:57 PM
Don’t recognise SAITM degree – SLMC | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka http://www.sundaytimes.lk/150913/news/dont-recognise-saitm-degree-s...

It added that there “is a lack of facilities for training in practical clinical Forensic Medicine e.g. to examine Killing the Kelani River
and report on clinical medico-legal post-mortem examinations,” in addition to a deficiency in exposure to
preventive care services in the State sector e.g. MOH (Medical Officer of Health) office activities and field Murder of a mermaid
services.
On the road to extinction
Search
While physical facilities including lecture halls seem adequate, the Inspection Team report to the SLMC said
Dengue loses its sting; for the moment
that the number of non-academic staff was “surprisingly few”. “The Anatomy Department and the
Biochemistry Department have a few technical officers and lab assistants but in all other departments all Kandy to go underground to avoid traffic
HOME ARCHIVE FEEDS CONTACT US RSS ↑ THEcongestion:
SUNDAY TIMES SRI LANKA
technical and clerical functions appear to be carried out by junior academic staff. This is not satisfactory and Minister Kiriella
needs
The improvement,”
Sunday Times Sri Lankathe report said. The student-staff ratio was 7.7:1 (856 students and 110 full-time
academic staff). “However, one must acknowledge and appreciate some of the rather innovative and novel The KP mystery: Still no concrete evidence, but not
exonerated
teaching utilities that have been encompassed into the paediatrics training programme that tries to mitigate
the shortcomings that have been present as a result of the low patient numbers,” the report said. AG says he won’t go for show trials

It said internship is not addressed in the SAITM MBBS programme and recommended that a one-year
internship programme needs to be negotiated with the Ministry of Health as per order or merit status. The
NFTH, it said, has no intern house officers.

Share This Post

2 of 2 7/17/2016 9:57 PM