Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih addressing Parliament said that he is not a specialist doctor and never used the title in his official documentation, clinic letterheads, prescription pads or stationery.
Salih made this statement in response to what he said was malicious allegations claiming that he falsely referred to himself as a specialist doctor.
He said that during the general election, certain election materials that were not prepared by him, erroneously referred to him as a specialist doctor. “As soon as I became aware of this error, I instructed the individuals to halt the distributions of these materials,” Salih said.
“I possess a postgraduate diploma in ENT surgery. This was in the era that the Health Ministry along with the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine started courses after having competitive exams among doctors, to select doctors for a course of study and award them diplomas in their relevant fields, to man the base hospitals that lack these specialities,” the Deputy Speaker explained.
He said he was selected for such a training as a DLO surgeon. (DLO is a postgraduate diploma that focuses on the field of otorhinolaryngology, also known as ENT – Ear, Nose, and Throat). Salih said that the reference to him as a specialist doctor may have been brought up by individuals and patients who knew his work from that era.
“My last appointment in the government health sector was ENT Surgeon in Nuwara Eliya. We performed surgeries — life saving surgeries. I am glad that the Health Ministry took such a wise decision at that time and train such specialities, so that we could be trained and make a contribution,” he further explained.
“I’m not going to knock on the heads of the patients who call me that. They might call me ENT surgeon, that is wrong nomenclature,” Salih said.
Salih said that he was a licensed practitioner of medicine, adding that these were attempts to undermine his work as a medical professional. (Newswire)
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