The postmortem examination was performed today on the remains of a woman who recently died during surgery at the Dr Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH) in Malabe.

Delivering an open decision on this, the Colombo Additional Judicial Medical Officer Dr S.P.A. Hewage in his report called for further inquiry into the cause of death.

Iresha Madumali Jeewandara, 35, from Delgoda, had visited the hospital in question on Wednesday (21) in order to consult a doctor with regard small bumps in her abdomen.

The doctor who inspected her had informed her family members that she needs to undergo surgery. 

However, following the surgery the doctor notified the patient’s relatives that her condition had become very serious. She was pronounced dead on Friday (23).

Repeated attempts by Iresha’s relatives to contact the doctor who performed the surgery, to inquire regarding the cause of her death, had failed.  

The autopsy was carried out on her remains at the Colombo National Hospital this evening. 

According to the report, further inquiry was required into the cause of death and therefore samples should be sent for further tests. 

Issuing a statement today regarding the incident, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) demanded that the Ministry of Health and the Sri Lanka Medical Council immediately launch an inquiry on a technical level as to whether the patient actually required surgery and what had transpired afterwards.   

The association also said that the police and the criminal investigations department carry out a proper investigation based on the complaint filed by the patient’s family. 

The GMOA said that what is most regrettable is that even after the patient had died, the hospital administration had pressed her relatives to pay of a hospital bill of over Rs 150,000.