The professorial unit of the pediatric section of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital has had to be temporarily closed due to all three paediatricians who worked there seeking greener pastures elsewhere and leaving the hospital.
Accordingly, Ward 63, the faculty unit of the pediatric section of the hospital, has been closed.
Hence, the hospital authorities have given relevant instructions to refer the patients there to wards 24 and 25, and to refer future admissions only to those two wards, hospital sources said.
In view of the current economic crisis and prevailing conditions, medical professionals seek overseas employment in large numbers. The closure of a ward of a premier hospital in the country due to the brain drain may be described as the situation reaching its culmination, one consultant attached to the hospital told “Lankasara”.
Although a retired senior specialist has been appointed to replace the doctors who have left, the specialist concerned has also taken three months’ leave, citing health reasons.
As an alternative, the authorities are now trying to obtain the services of medical specialists from the Puttalam hospita
