Jaffna medical graduates’ reluctance to serve in NE lamented

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 August 2003, 01:50 GMT]
“As the medical graduates of Jaffna University are reluctant to serve in the North East,” the North East Health Services has been forced to “beg doctors from other districts to serve in the North East,” lamented the director of the NEHS, Dr. Kumaravetpillai.

Though a sizable number of doctors graduate from the University of Jaffna, not even ten of them are coming forward to serve in the Jaffna district, preferring to work in the South, in places like Colombo, Kandy and Galle, said Dr. Kumaravetpillai.

“Already there are many Tamil doctors in such hospitals in the South in excess of what is needed. But graduating Tamil doctors are not coming forward to serve in Tamil areas. Where there is an acute shortage of doctors. This is deplorable,” said the NEHS director.

Meanwhile, some divisions in the Jaffna Teacghing Hospital are severely affected as a result of lack of specialists, said Dr. S.Sathurmugan, the Director of the Hospital.