A New Disciplinary Investigation against Dr Palitha Rajapaksa ? 

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On September 4th, the tragic news of a bus falling into a 1000-foot-deep plunge on the Ella-Wellawaya Road, killing 15 people, shocked the nation. During the rescue operations, Dr Palitha Rajapaksa and his team from Badulla hospital, who rushed to the scene, were highly praised over social media. 

However, several days later, a series of social media posts claimed that a disciplinary investigation would be conducted against the same Dr Palitha Rajapaksa.

Social Media Posts :

A news article titled “A disciplinary investigation against Dr Palitha Rajapaksa, who acted despite the risk to his life during the horrific Ella accident!” was circulated on social media. 

This news sparked much discussion on social media. Some people commented on these posts, saying that a disciplinary investigation has been initiated against the doctor under the current government. In contrast, others had highlighted that this was a continuation of an old investigation, as seen below.

We took steps to assess the credibility of these posts.

Fact Check

First, we checked how the mainstream media outlets have reported on this matter. We found out that Dr Palitha Rajapaksa of the Badulla Teaching Hospital has been summoned to the Public Service Commission for a disciplinary investigation regarding a statement he made regarding the recent shortage of medicines. The doctor has also mentioned that he came following a summons from the Ministry of Health. You can refer to more information here, here and here.

Speaking to the media after giving the statements, Dr Rajapakse had stated that he had been summoned to Colombo in connection with a disciplinary investigation into a statement he made at a press conference back in 2022, over comments on the medicine shortage.

The 2022 incident, which led to the inquiry

During a media briefing several years ago, the Uva Provincial Chairman of the Medical Association, Dr Palitha Rajapaksa, stated that there was a shortage of several anesthetic drugs needed for COVID-19 patients and patients receiving treatment in the emergency room at the Badulla General Hospital and throughout Sri Lanka.

He pointed out that the Ministry of Health should take action regarding the lack of these essential life-saving drugs and that these drugs should be imported as soon as possible.

Furthermore, Dr Palitha had stated that the Badulla General Hospital has only five or six of these medicines and that there are no medicines available for emergency use. The lack of these medicines has further impacted patients affected by COVID-19. 

Below is an article published in the Divaina newspaper in February 2024 about a disciplinary investigation that was being conducted against Dr Palitha Rajapaksa.

The doctor had also published a post on his Facebook account regarding this, as seen here.

Dr Palitha Rajapaksa confirms the investigation was a continuation of an old inquiry.

We contacted Dr Palitha Rajapaksa over the phone to inquire about this, and he confirmed that he had been summoned to the Public Service Commission for a disciplinary investigation, not for the Ella accident, but for a statement he had made regarding the shortage of medicines, back in 2022.

He mentioned that, as he had made a statement to the media regarding a shortage of medicines at the Badulla Teaching Hospital, the health authorities at that time had taken steps to conduct a disciplinary investigation into the matter, and that he had come to Colombo this time to appear before the disciplinary investigation board.

Accordingly, Dr Rajapaksa had stated that he had been summoned to the Public Service Commission on numerous occasions over the past few years to conduct investigations.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation into this incident confirmed that the disciplinary inquiry against Dr Palitha Rajapaksa was not related to any recent incident. Dr Palitha Rajapaksa has been summoned to the Public Service Commission for a disciplinary investigation due to a statement he made regarding the shortage of medicines back in 2022, and the investigation has been ongoing for the past several years.