GMOA to Launch Trade Union Action Tomorrow

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has announced that it will initiate a trade union action from 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The trade union action will address concerns that the 2026 budget neglects both healthcare services and the needs of medical professionals.

During the action, the association plans to inform political leaders, religious leaders, civil society organizations, and the public about the budget’s failure to address critical issues within the healthcare system.

The trade union action will include the suspension of issuing prescriptions for patients requiring medications or laboratory tests that are unavailable within hospitals, as well as advising patients to seek such services externally.

Medical officers have also decided not to voluntarily participate in government-organized health camps and clinics run by political groups.

Additionally, the deployment of doctors to newly opened hospital wards and units without sufficient medical staff will be temporarily suspended.

Under the trade union action, doctors will refrain from examining patients without adequate facilities or supporting staff, in order to safeguard patient safety and privacy.