President Ranil Wickremesinghe cautioned the public against making the “mistake” of transferring a “recovering patient”, who was in critical condition, to the care of an “unqualified doctor” after receiving emergency treatment, on September 21.
He emphasized that, just as a doctor’s license can be revoked by the Sri Lanka Medical Council for refusing to treat a patient, the public should reject politicians who abandoned their duty to revive the country’s economy in 2022.
The President made these remarks while addressing the Public Service United Nurses’ Association’s “2024 Nursing Conference” held today (17) at the Water’s Edge Hotel in Battaramulla.
During the event, Ven. Dr. Venerable Dr. Muruththettuwe Ananda Nayaka Thero, Chancellor of the University of Colombo, presented a memorandum of proposals from the United Nurses’ Association to the President.
In his speech, President Wickremesinghe reflected on the country’s economic recovery, noting that no one expected the economy, which was in a critical state, to show signs of improvement within two years.
He compared Sri Lanka’s economy to a patient undergoing surgery and admitted to the emergency unit. He projected that by 2025, the “patient” will be stable enough to move to a general ward, relieving some of the burden on the people, and by 2026, the economy will be fully discharged from the “hospital” as the country begins to progress rapidly.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced plans to enhance the role of the nursing service in Sri Lanka’s nation-building efforts. He emphasized his commitment to providing the necessary resources to develop a skilled nursing workforce equipped with modern technological knowledge.
Additionally, a program will be established to facilitate the deployment of Sri Lankan nurses to meet both domestic and international demands, he said.
The President also stated that a program is being developed to deploy Sri Lankan nurses to meet the increasing demand for healthcare professionals in Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, and European countries due to the growing global population.
