Pungudutivu residents demand better medical services

[TamilNet, Friday, 13 August 2004, 15:01 GMT]
Hundreds of residents of Pungudutivu, an islet in the Jaffna district, Friday morning went on a demonstration in the Jaffna town through Hospital Road and picketed the office of Deputy Provincial Director of Health Services (DPDHS) demanding that the medical services provided by the Pungudutivu hospital should be improved and permanent medical officers should be posted. Pungudutivu civil groups organized this agitation.

At the end of the demonstration, civil group representatives handed a memorandum to the administrative office of the DPDHS offices. The memorandum is addressed to the North East Provincial Director of Health Services. Copies of the memorandum were sent to the Jaffna District Government Agent (GA) and to the Pungudutivu Divisional Secretary.

The memorandum states that the Pungudutivu hospital was defunct from 1991 to 1997 due to war. The hospital recommenced its Out Patient Department (OPD) medical services two days a week during the later part of 1997.

However the OPD is currently unable to provide better medical services as medical officers appointed to the hospital are transferred within short time without any replacement.

About five thousand people reside in Pungudutivu. Every month minimum one thousand patients go to the OPD of this hospital. However the provincial health authorities are not taking steps to post a permanent medical officer to this hospital despite repeated requests, the memorandum states.