My Sting at Nawaloka Hospital

There were two reasons, I joined Nawaloka Hospital Administration.

 

Before that I would have a slant on School Cricket of Yesteryear, JVP and Police.

Police First

Our Police Force was good before N. M. Perera and Sirimavo Bandaranayike regime.

 

DIG. C. C. Dissanayake, Sarem and Zoyza were convicted in 1962 of a coup to overthrow the government. I believe Catholic Church was behind this SAGA but things were hushed up.

By the time P. B. Herath became the DIG under Senior Premadasa, police was degraded to a very bad state.

Cricket Second 

T. B. Kelegamuva, G. S. Ratnanayake and S.U. Mendis (joined Air Force) were former cricketers who made Police Serviceman worth remembering.

JVP poisoning me at Undugoda Hospital

 

At Undugods we had a police officer (O.I.C) demoted for assaulting a  sitting MP. 

I think his name is N. P. Navarastne of ??

He had another case pinned on him murdering a local thug in Kegalle with the help of the School Inspector, Grama Niladhari and few others. 

This place was not under my jurisdiction and I was given summons which I could not refuse since others who were senior refused on flimsy grounds.

 

My first mission was another murder where army officer committing suicide after killing his wife and children. 

I reported sick on this occasion.

 

Well, I said OK but after I finish my clinical work and only after 4.30PM.

 

Well he is dead he can wait was my attitude.

 

The ploy was to send my PM assistant to the site and do the preliminary spy investigation. 

He told me it is blue murder.

 

Police wanted it to be accidental but I made it to be open verdict by my presentation in Magistrate Courts.

This officer came to meet me in the University to change my stance.

I told him if you see me again on this issue I am. going to make a formal complaint to the DIG. 

I never saw him again.

This preamble is to show how fed up, I was with the Department of Health.

I was finding a way to scoot off from Health.

The Undugoda Hospital was one which was occupied by the JVP for their injured carders. 

It was secured by police after a fierce fight. 

 

The first senior Tamil doctor left for his wedding and never returned.

The hospital had 100 beds and there were nearly 200 working staff. 
One per each bed and considering two shifts day and night.

The best ratio of the Entire World.

99% of the staff were JVP carder.

 

Their ploy was to bring bring fear to me and chase me out of the hospital.

Chief Clerk was a rogue and a money lender from Hospital cash.

I caught him first.

The Marketing Department Supply officer was another crook.

Dispenser cashed one rupee for every prescription.

Only the young pharmacist who was a Tamil I could trust and kept a proper record.

Two Assistants

One Tamil RMP senior enough to call my father.

One AMP a Muslim guy.

Both had a rollicking Private Practice.

It was corrupt to the CORE.

 

My first appointment.

My mission was to leave this place soon before I was murdered.

 

1. First they put a rotten rat in to the overhead water tank. 

I got them to clean them until 3AM. 

 

2. Threatened me with a Chris knife.

I had enough witnesses.

He was sent off. I made sure he did not do that again until he kneel  down on me and apologize.

 

3. (a) Then they put poison in my food.

I survived with one month medical leave. 

This is after I had leave for Chickenpox infection. I had hardly any time for clinical work.

I got  my own cook and guard one and the same guy.

I got police squad to the a Police Squad to visit me on false pretext.

The guy who allegedly assaulted sitting MP Navaratne Banda of Minipe was transferred to a different location after the above incident and a guy who was in a Private Police Guard for Sirimavo Bandaranayake was sent as acting O. I. C.

I got advice from Daniel in Ratnapura Hospital, Chief atte4ndant where I did my Internship.

I was poisoned three times.

 

3. (b) Second one I detected after the first mouthful and investigated and made sure that she did not stay in my neighborhood. 

 

3. (c) Third time was in a private nursing home 

Nursing officer was caught and sacked. 

 

 

Do not trust these good looking nurses.

read Murder in the N.H.S. where one of my senior friends in UK was falsely accused.

 

I was not poisoned at Navaloka Hospital since except for a cup of tea at the director's executive lounge I did not eat there.

Continue on Undugo Hospital, I had a another strategy. This was the time Jaffna was rampant with Cholera epidemic. I got a Guy who visted Jaffna admitted with diarrhoea. 

I confimed it as Cholera.

Hospital was quranteened with only hospital staff and diarrhoea patients were admitted. It was an opportunity for me to teach the entire staff according to the WHO protocol.

I was a headache for S. H. S.

I used to visit him after court attendance. He said you have many complaints.

Are there any documented complaints?

So put those "JVP  කැලා පත්තර" to the dustbin and release me to the University on Seconded Service.

By this time, I secured a post in the University. Not one but several. 

The DHS then did not release me on flimsy grounds. Nobody wanted to take my place. By this time I had few informants from COLOMBO office. I used to get who is on Duty and specially acting secretary. He was a slimy guy. I went to him and said please do not send me to Department of Patholgy. I have to do filthy postmortems. Beside the professor is a nasty guy. He said come in 2 weeks. He got the letter signed by the DHS. 

I said thank You, Sir.

He wanted the doctors say thank in front of his subordinates.

Then my leave after 6 years serving the University on NO PAY Leave was due.

This was deliberately delayed.

I said I am already released and if you do not appoint me to Colombo General Hospital, I am buying a ticket to UK and leaving for good.

While this going on I made an appointment with the Permanant Secretary of the Health. He was a smart guy. 

One Dr. P. D. Silva (I am not sure).

He called the DHS and ordered him to apppont me to Colombo, General by 3PM.

He had many other complaints and I guess he was sacked subsequently.

I would continue this later.

I got to test Steam OS now. Steam OS stinks. It cannot be installed on a PC. They Valve guys are getting scared. Lot of Linux Game OSes are coming to the forefront.

Navaloka Hospital 

When, I joined as an administrator cum a duty officer of the laboratory, it was stingy mess.

Earlier I said I had two reasons.One to see how a private nursimg home works

Two to institute a Quality Control procedure so that Navoloka, is the first to get the National Quality Award.

Somehow, Chandrika Kumaranatunge got whiff of me and sent a note to me through a guy from Nittambuwa. 

To built and operation a Co oP Hospitals. 

I said 9 months only and accomplish that and immediately after joined the University on Permanent basis. All these time I was doing Temporary or Seconded services. 

I also said until the salary scale is above the private sector I would not join. I quietly put a word to Chandrika but she wouldn't budge.

Of course, we had to organize a work to rule under Mahinda Rajapaksa and he acceded.

Undugoda Hospital

 

Since politics is not interesting, I would insinuate this true story.

This story I have not stated here before.

I have agrophobia or fear of snakes which is long standing. 

I have even killed a tiny cobra under my bed with a ruler. 

I was only 3 years of age.

 

That would have been the reason for ongoing fear of snakes.

My first job as an Acting District Medical Officer was in Kegalle Province. 

It was called Undugoda Hospital and was occupied by JVP during 1973 insurrection.

The quarters was not occupied by a Resident Officer for a long time and was infested with lot of rats.

 

Low be hold!

A King Cobras did decide to reside on the roof of the quarters. 

It was not of  high roof but I could not locate its residential area after a week of inspection. This Cobra was very crafty and it did know where to hide. 

In the meantime, all the hospital staff said that this snake was nasty. 

Their plan was for me to commute daily from Kandy and without a car it was not a reasonable ploy.

I decided to stay put and bought a powerful torch. My bed was a high hospital bed. There was no problem at day time and this Cobra appears only after night, around 7PM.

I do a roof survey before alighting from the bed several times but never could locate the Cobra. 

The moment I step out of the bed I hear the noise of the Cobra alighting from the roof.

 

Now I know cobras do not hear but have a powerful proprioception up to 18 to 20 feet and they keep this distance by default and away from humans.

This is not true of young cobras and they are as poisonous as adults.

In the first few days I used to step across it's belly in the verandah.

I used to delay my exit from the verandah and then I see it crossing in front of me in the open yard.

This Cobra counted every step of me but never intended to harm me.

The Cobra was always ahead of me and never after.

After two weeks I settled down and hospital staff knew I was not going to leave.

 

The hospital staff tried several other intimidatory tactics but all failed and a few of them got transferred out the hospital. 

 

That was the only way, the Superintendent of Health Service could keep me in the station.

It lasted only 7 months and I used to see this Cobra daily but never a hint of harm but cohabitation in real style with rat problem solved without rat poison.

I left the hospital, telling the staff never to harm this King Cobra.

 

During the latter stages of my life I have had several Cobra Episodes.

Now with the election campaign fully on we would see real Human Cobras in action twisting and turning lies after lies. 

Swallow them with care.

I was lucky to be seconded to the University from where I did not migrate except to Colombo General Hospital.

Then abroad.

Then Private Sector.

Then University again until retirement.