The Political Council of Tamil-Speaking People has urged the government to immediately review the existing uniform regulations for Health Assistants, taking cultural and religious sensitivities into account while safeguarding professional standards and patient safety.
The council’s convener and Opposition Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rasamanickam wrote to the Minister of Health yesterday (17), calling for necessary action to address concerns arising from the current regulations.
The letter follows recommendations issued by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka regarding the matter.
The council stressed that uniform regulations should maintain high standards of clinical safety and professionalism while accommodating legitimate cultural and religious practices and individual preferences.
It also called for the relevant circular to be reviewed and amended, and for a practical and inclusive national policy to be developed for all state health institutions.
Referring to the Health Minister’s invitation in Parliament for proposals on the issue, the council sought clarification on whether the proposed committee had been formally appointed, what progress had been made, and when the revised national circular was expected to be issued.
The council stated that opposition political parties were willing to submit proposals and support a fair resolution. However, it emphasised that the responsibility for implementing the necessary policy changes rested with the government.
It also urged the Ministry of Health to provide an immediate response and a clear timeline to prevent unnecessary ethnic tensions from arising over the issue.
The letter was issued on behalf of six political parties: the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC), Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA), Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA).
