Kuliyapitiya Hospital Director Dismissed Over Ambulance Misuse Allegations

 Authorities have taken steps to immediately transfer Dr. K.A.R. Jayathilake, who served as the Director of Kuliyapitiya Teaching Hospital, to the Ministry of Health for general duties. Sources from the Ministry of Health confirm that this transfer was made after considering complaints submitted to the Ministry by a group of specialist doctors, doctors, and junior staff of the hospital, alleging misuse of a hospital ambulance.

Based on these allegations against the Director, a group of hospital staff, including doctors, recently engaged in a protest in front of the hospital.

However, commenting on the incident, the former Director states that false accusations have been leveled against him due to changes he implemented at the hospital, prioritizing patient welfare. He points out that he intervened to extend the operations of the Outpatient Department (OPD), which was not functional after 4:00 PM since last December, until 8:00 PM, and to resolve issues of staff not reporting to duty on time.

Furthermore, he tightened rules mandating doctors assigned to medical clinics and the emergency treatment unit to remain on duty during their respective hours, as well as,

Dr. Jayathilake also states that he took steps to prohibit specialist doctors from engaging in private medical practice during official working hours. He further emphasizes that a group leveled baseless accusations against him and orchestrated this transfer due to these strict decisions taken to streamline patient care.