March 2018
Professor Sanath P Lamabadusuriya
Emeritus Professor and Consultant Paediatrician. Colombo, Sri Lanka
Speedy: Welcome again Sanath
for the Final Part of the Interview. We reached the point where you got
through Part 1 of the MRCP. Was that the time when you decided to pursue a
career in Paediatrics?
Sanath: No, I made my
choice for a career in Paediatrics when I got the post of Lecturer in the
Department of Paediatrics.
Speedy: I see. And while in
that post, you were awarded a Colombo–Plan scholarship?
Sanath: That is
correct, and this enabled me to proceed to the UK for post
graduate studies for a period of two years.
Speedy: I see. And you told
me that about this time you had a most interesting experience prior to leaving
for the UK. Could you tell us about it?
Sanath: Yes Speedy,
this really happened. In late 1971 (year of the first JVP uprising) I decided
to have my palm read by one Dr. Kingsley Goonetilleke, who had an
office at Galle Road Ratmalana. At that time I had long hair and a beard. After
parking my Triumph Herald car some distance away and wearing a pair of rubber
slippers and an unbuttoned shirt, I walked into his premises. After accepting a
payment of 10 rupees, he daubed my right palm with India ink, got an imprint on
a sheet of white paper and started reading. When he asked for my profession I
replied that I am a bank clerk. Then he told me that it could not be true and
unless I assisted him, he would not be able to give an accurate reading. When I
replied that I was a doctor, he said that I have to be doing something more
than treating patients. When I asked him what he meant, he replied that I have
to be teaching, doing research or both. (He was “spot on” as I was doing all
three as a lecturer).I kept quiet and he went on reading saying that I am due
to proceed abroad fairly soon and after a few years that I would return single
and get married to a person known to my family. At that time I had never met my
future wife Buddhika, He went on to mention that I would become a professor
before my 40th birthday. (It was not possible at that time because both
PriyaniSoysa and Herbert Aponso were due to retire in the early 90’s). After I
returned at the end of 1974, I went through a marriage arranged by my parents.
Buddhika’s father and my father were cousins, hailing from the same village
called Pahalagoda in Tangalle.
Speedy: That is quite an amazing
story Sanath! Has this influenced your views on palmistry and horoscopes?
Sanath: I do not have fixed ideas about both topics. However, my personal
experience which I related just now has swayed me towards being a believer.
Speedy: Quite understandable.
This shows how people approach these matters and how personal experience
influence belief. Just out of interest, why did you consult this person?
Sanath: My father used to
dabble in astrology as an amateur and he had dealings with Kingsley
Goonetilleke. That may be the reason why I consulted him. However,
the palmist did not ask for my name and he did not know my identity.
Speedy: Cultural influences do play a big role
in our belief systems. I quite appreciate that.
And then you went to the UK.
Sanath: Yes, in late
December 1971, I boarded a BOAC flight and arrived in London. I was allowed
only GBP 2.50 as foreign exchange and spent most of it drinking Scotch whiskey
on board. When I arrived at Heathrow, I had only 50 pence in my pocket! I
followed a course in Child Health at the Institute of Child Health, University
of London, which had been arranged by the British Council. I passed the DCH
(London) exam without much difficulty. I was given a monthly allowance of GBP
72.00 and lived in a bed-sitter at 58, Hermiston Avenue. N8. I travelled by bus
to the tube station at Finsbury Park and got off at Russell Square.
Speedy: You were just a
clinical observer or were you actually doing clinical work?
Sanath: No my
scholarship did not give me a clinical position and I was rather bored
following this course. I contacted the British Council and informed them that
as I wanted practical clinical experience before sitting for the exams, I would
like to do a job in the NHS. They told me that I would have to find a job on my
own and when I find one, to inform them
so that they would stop my monthly allowance. I applied for a few posts and was
successful in getting an SHO post in neonatal paediatrics at the Whittington
Hospital in North London.
Speedy: This must have given
you valuable direct clinical experience.
Sanath: Yes it did and
I was also able to save some money and go to France for a short holiday. I went
by train to Paris, crossing the English Channel in a hovercraft.
Speedy: I remember doing
that journey with Patrick Fernando who is also sadly no more. We crossed the
channel by ferry. Please tell us about your stint at Whittington Hospital
Sanath: I started work
at Whittington Hospital on the 1st of April 1972 and worked for
six months until the end of September 1972. I was on call every other night and
when on call worked continuously from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm on the following day.
I was provided with free hospital accommodation, subsidised food, free phone
calls, free laundry services and free beer in the doctor’s mess! As I did not
have to spend for transport I saved a lot of money from my monthly salary of
GBP125.00. I purchased a Ford Anglia car for GBP 60.00. During this time I
passed the MRCP (Part 11) examination at my first attempt. I also associated
closely with SusiriWeerasekera, who was a SHO in orthopaedic surgery
at the same hospital.
Speedy: Was it all work while
you were in the UK?
Sanath: Fortunately
not Speedy! In the summer of 1972, I went on a driving and camping holiday with
Bertram Nanayakkara in his Volkswagen Beetle. We set off from London to Dover
and crossed the English Channel to Calais. We drove to Paris and camped in a campsite
in the north of Paris. These campsites had all the facilities. Then we drove to
Lyon and Interlaken in Switzerland, our next camping site. We visited Geneva,
Zurich and Berne and drove to Vienna where we visited two castles (Schonbrunn
and Belvedere), and then drove to Munich to see the Olympic village about two
weeks before the 1972 Olympic Games. I took over the wheel and I was able to
exceed 80 mph, which Bertram could not! On the autobahn, another car overtook
us and one of the blacks in that car started gesticulating at us for apparently no reason. We crossed the border at
Arnheim in Holland towards twilight and when we returned to the car after the
immigration check, we discovered that our camping equipment had disappeared
together with the roof rack! Then we realised how I was able to exceed a speed
of 80 mph and why the occupants of the car that overtook us, gesticulated (they
would have witnessed the roof-rack being blown away). We drove back to a police
station in Germany to report our loss so that we could claim insurance. We
drove to Amsterdam through Rotterdam and parked our car close to the railway
station so that we could attend to our ablutions. We spent the rest of the
nights in our car as our finances were exhausted. From Amsterdam, we drove to
Brussels, visited the Golden Square, saw the Mannequin Pis and returned to
London through Calais and Dover. During the trip Bertram was teasing me about
the inexpensive Kodak Instamatic camera I was using with magicubes, in
comparison to his much more expensive Canon camera. After the trip, Bertram
sheepishly asked for copies of my photographs as his camera had not functioned
at all during the entire trip!
Speedy: The exuberance of
youth! Bet you couldn’t do that now! What followed the Whittington job?
Presumably, your scholarship time was not exhausted?
Sanath: Yes, I had I
had plenty of time left, as I had obtained both DCH (London) and MRCP (UK)
within six months of arrival. After completing that, I had one of two choices;
either I could apply for a registrar’s post in the NHS and earn more money or
revert back to the scholarship allowance and pursue research.
Speedy: I know what you
decided but what drove you to pursue the research option?
Sanath: As I was single
I had no one close to advise me. But I chose the research option because I was
already an academic and involved in a bit or research before I
arrived in London. (Fortunately, I opted for the latter and this happened to be
one of the most important decisions I have made in my life). My position was as
a research fellow in paediatric gastroenterology at the Institute of Child
Health, London. My supervisor was John Harries who was a Senior Lecturer.
Others in the department were Professor Otto Wolff, June Lloyd (who later
became a Baroness), Audrey Fosbrooke and David Muller.
Speedy: Could you please
talk about your research experience?
Sanath: My first
research project was to assess the usefulness of the Xylose Tolerance Test as a
screening test for coeliac disease. My findings were different to the hitherto
published work as I found it too unreliable to be used as a screening test.
Subsequently, other studies proved that I was correct. Later I got on to bile
salts; to find the effects of unconjugated bile salts and mixtures of bile
salts and lipids on the small intestinal function and structure. The
experimental model was the Wistar rat. I sacrificed well over 700 rats for my
research. I had to obtain an animal licence from the Home Office to carry out
the dissections. I used to present my research findings at meetings of the
Paediatric Research Society, Medical Research Society and the European Society
for Paediatric Gastroenterology, in different centres in England as well as in
Helsinki and Verona.
Speedy: Great stuff! Did
this research lead to a research Degree?
Sanath: Not unless I
registered for one. In fact, after a few months my supervisor inquired from me
whether I would like to register for a research degree and if so a minimum of
two years was required. As I had started research on the 1st of September 1972,
I needed an extension of leave as I came on two years leave which would be over
at the end of 1973. I applied for an extension and with great difficulty, I was
able to obtain an extension of one year.
Speedy: Was this a paid job
or purely Honorary?
Sanath: This was Honorary and I had to revert back to my scholarship allowance.
During this time I had reverted back to my bed-sitter at Hermiston Avenue and
was stretched for finances. Fortunately, PramillaSenanayake introduced me to
the Southern Relief Service based in Crystal Palace which was
a locum service for GPs on leave. I was provided with a chauffeur-driven radio
car to visit patients in their homes. I was paid GBP 1.50 per hour and worked
from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm, on Saturdays and Sundays. I earned GBP 30.00 per
weekend to supplement my scholarship allowance. (I worked really hard, seven
days of the week, without a break.)
Speedy: That must have been
really tough but it must have also been a life saver! You must be very grateful
to Pram.
Sanath: Indeed I was.
Speedy: Did you do more
trips to Europe?
Sanath: In the summer
of 1973 I went to the Scandinavian countries on another driving and camping
trip with Bertram. We sailed from Harwich to Hamburg and visited Copenhagen,
Malmo, Jonkoping, Stockholm, Oslo and back to Copenhagen, Hamburg and Harwich.
Both these trips to the continent were really enjoyable and we used a book
called “Europe on 5 dollars a day” which was quite handy.
Speedy: And back to work!
How long did it take you to complete your PhD?
Sanath: I obtained the
PhD (London) after 2 years and 3 months of research and returned home at the
end of 1974, after completing the study leave. I was the first clinician to
obtain a research degree in Sri Lanka.
Speedy: The first Sri Lankan
Clinician to obtain a Research Degree! I wasn’t aware of that. Congratulations!
Sanath: Thanks Speedy.
Speedy: As you said, you
came back to Sri Lanka. Were you tempted to stay on in the UK?
Sanath Speedy, the country was going through difficult times; however, I was
keen on returning so that I could be with my parents who were both quite old by
then.
Speedy: That is a very
honest and frank answer. Tell us now about what you did after returning to Sri
Lanka.
Sanath: Soon after I returned, I won the George Wickramasuriya prize which was
awarded for research in paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology; I shared
the prize with Professor S.S Ratnam from Singapore. I resumed work at LRH and
Colombo Medical Faculty for a monthly salary of Rs.900.00. There was no private
practice but the income was sufficient to lead a comfortable life as I was
single and living in Wellawatte with my parents. As it took one year for me to
get a car permit, I travelled by bus to LRH and the bus fare was 25 cents. I
had lunch in the Senior Common Room which cost Rs. 1.60. On two days of the
week, rice was not available and we ate manioc, sweet potato or string hoppers
(during Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s regime). When the sea baggage arrived, it
included a bicycle and I cycled to work.
Speedy: This was a time of
great political change in Sri Lanka. Can you give us the background on which
new Medical Faculties sprung up?
Sanath: During this time,
some opposition members of parliament made speeches in parliament saying that
if and when they come to power, they would abolish standardisation at the
University entrance examination. When JRJ romped to power in 1977, they had to
honour their promises. When standardisation was abolished, it was found that
relatively more Tamil students would be entering the two medical faculties. As
this was politically not acceptable, more Sinhala students had to be admitted.
Then it was found that the number of slots available in Colombo and
Peradeniya were insufficient to accommodate the increased intake. In
1978 two new Faculties of Medicine were created in Ruhuna and Jaffna. When the
posts were advertised I applied for Ruhuna and was selected (I was the only
applicant).
Speedy: We shall discuss
your family at a later point but suffice to say at this point that you married
Buddhika, who is sadly no more with us, in February 1976.
Sanath; Yes, I did and we had a very happy time together till she passed away in
November 2013.
Speedy: We were all saddened
to learn of her illness and your loss.
Sanath: Thanks Speedy. We have to accept these inevitabilities in life and
just do our best to get on with it.
Speedy: A courageous and
realistic attitude. Let us get back to the next stage in your life.
Sanath: In 1979 when Buddhika was granted her Post Graduate study leave, I
took sabbatical leave and assumed duties as locum Consultant
Paediatrician at Pilgrim Hospital , Boston, Lincolnshire and Buddhika
joined me later. When my leave was over in November 1979, I returned home. I
assumed duties at Ruhuna on the 1st of September 1980 as the Founder Professor. (Palmist KG’s second prediction was proved correct because when I
assumed duties in Ruhuna, I was 37 years old).
Speedy: Sanath, you have
achieved a lot in your long and illustrious career. Is it possible to single
out any project which gave you the most satisfaction?
Sanath: My most satisfying professional project is the Sri Lankan Cleft-Lip and
Palate Project of which I was the co-director together with Dr Michael Mars,
who was a Senior Registrar in Orthodontics at the Hospital for Sick Children,
Great Ormond Street, London. When I was in Galle, in 1982, Michael contacted me
and invited me to join in a research project. There was a controversy in the
West about the restricted growth of the middle third of the face (maxilla) in
patients who had been operated at the conventional time for a cleft palate. The
dilemma was whether it was due to an intrinsic bone defect or iatrogenic, due
to surgery. To resolve the issue a population of patients was required who were born
with such defects and who had not received surgical treatment, at the
conventional time. As such patients were not found in the West, he wished to
know whether such patients are found in Sri Lanka and if so whether I would
like to participate in a project to resolve the issue.. As I sent a
positive reply he visited Karapitiya on a pilot trip with a maxillo-facial
surgeon, David James. I collected about 30 such patients of different ages.
They took plenty of photographs, dental casts and lateral X-rays of the skull
using a cephalostat. They wished to come again. My reply was that they are
welcome but if they come again the patients also should benefit. Michael
inquired from me what facilities could be provided for surgery. As the hospital
at Karapitiya was not built as yet only the one at Mahamodera was available. I
told him that I could provide a theatre table, lamp, oxygen cylinders and
nothing else. Later he managed to raise funds and arrived with a surgical team
which comprised of plastic surgeons, anaesthetists, ENT surgeons,
orthodontists, speech therapists, theatre nurses, dental nurses and a
paediatrician. They were from the UK and Norway. About 30 crates of equipment
were airlifted containing surgical equipment, anaesthetic equipment, drugs, IV
fluids, theatre boots, gloves, gowns, dressings etc.
Speedy: This shows how
determined you are when you pursue something close to your heart. How did you set about recruiting patients?
Sanath: I managed to
collect hundreds of patients from all over the country by advertising through
the media.They were prioritised and only patients with un-operated cleft lips
and/or palates were selected. Many investigations such as dental casts, speech recordings,
photographs, nasendoscopies, psychometric assessments, audiometry etc.
were performed. Medical students acted as interpreters. Surgery was performed
during the night as that that was the only time a theatre was available at
Mahamodera. Over the years there were three surgical expeditions, each
visit for two weeks and over 700 patients underwent successful surgery without
a single mortality. There were several other visits for follow-up. Although the
country was going through a civil war the recall rate was high from all over
the country. The project resulted in many research degrees, scientific
papers, lectures, orations etc. It also created the largest data base in the
world for un-operated cleft lips and palates.The final verdict was that the
poor growth of the maxilla was due to the timing and quality of surgery. As a
result of these findings, the cleft palate
services in the UK were re-organised.
Speedy: Did it receive a lot
of publicity?
Sanath: There was
a lot of publicity in the local media. The BBC made a film of the project
titled “When to Mend Faces” and it was telecast on
Channel 4 of British TV and Rupavahini. This film won an award as well. After
viewing the film an anonymous person donated GBP 200,000.00 to develop speech
therapy services in Sri Lanka. At that time we had only one speech therapist
and she was in the private sector. As a result of this donation a diploma
course for speech therapy was set up in the University of Kelaniya
and currently, there are over 70 speech therapists distributed all over Sri
Lanka. In recognition of my contribution to the project, Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth 11 conferred an MBE to me in 1992. Currently, I am the only Sri
Lankan domiciled in Sri Lanka to receive a Royal Honour.
Speedy: A stunning achievement. Your MBE was well deserved. I am not aware of any in our Batch who
figured in the Honours list although two of my classmates at Royal received
Honours. One was TissaJayasekera who received an OBE and the other was
DeepalLiyanage (known as Dai now) who received an MBE.
Sanath: Both of
them are domiciled in the UK. I remember Deepal. His brother Sunil was a boxer
and a Rheumatologist. He was senior to us. TissaJayasekera was a Rugby colours
man.
Speedy: When did you become Professor of Paediatrics in Colombo?
Sanath: After
PriyaniSoysa’s retirement, I assumed duties as the Professor in September 1991.
(Again I was the only applicant) The Colombo Medical faculty changed its
curriculum drastically getting rid of the 2nd and 3rd MBBS examinations and replacing
these with modules and streams. I was appointed as the Chairman of the Clinical
Stream for the new curriculum. Ten members of the academic staff, including me,
visited the University of New South Wales to undergo training for this major
step. I changed the evaluation process in paediatrics by giving 40% of the
final mark for continuous assessment (done in a very objective manner) during
the Final Year Professorial appointment and holding the clinical examination at
the end of the appointment. The students were very pleased with the change.
Speedy: You became more
involved with Medical Education and was elected Dean in 2002. How did this come
about? Did you have some ideas which you wanted to put into practice?
Sanath: I was elected
as the Dean for a three-year term of office. I was contested by Rezvie Sherriff
whom I beat very comfortably. During this time I made a professional visit to
Bhutan and agreed to admit about five Bhutanese students per year. Each student
had to pay a course fee of USD 10,000.00 per year, which was paid by the WHO.
Since then many Bhutanese students have graduated from our medical faculties. I
also trained a Bhutanese paediatrician. I am very proud to say that there
wasn’t a single strike by the students, academic or non-academic staff during
my tenure of office.
Speedy: Keeping focused on
Medical Training, how did you become involved in the Post Graduate Institute of
Medicine (PGIM)?
Sanath: The predecessor
to the PGIM was the Institute of Post Graduate Medicine (IPGM) whose Director
was Professor KN Seneviratne. I was appointed as the Secretary to the Board of
Study (BoS) in paediatrics. Later the IPGM was abolished and the PGIM
replaced it. I was a member of the BoS in
paediatrics from its inception until I was appointed as its Chairman in 1991
when I returned to Colombo. I was the chief examiner for both the DCH and MD
examinations. I continued in that position until I retired in 2008. I brought
in many reforms in the training programme and was instrumental in creating
sub-specialities. I was a member of the Board of Management of the PGIM for
many years in the 1980s, 1990s and until 2008.
Speedy: These were all
groundbreaking initiatives. You also held many positions in various
medical associations. Just to mention a few, you were the President of the
Galle Medical Association in 1990- 1991 and the President of the Sri Lanka
Paediatric Association in 1993 and President of the SLMA in 2011. You were a
member of the Sri Lanka Medical Council for many years. You became the country
representative of the South Asian Paediatric Association and culminating as the
President of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Association (APPA) from 2007 to 2010.
These are notable achievements.
Sanath: Thank you. Yes,
I felt greatly honoured. You mentioned the APPA, and the academic sessions of
APPA were held in Colombo at the BMICH in 2007, during the
war. However it was very well attended. I served in the
Standing Committee of the International Paediatric Association (IPA) for many
years. I was honoured as “Outstanding Paediatrician of Asia” by APPA
in 1997, when the sessions were held in Hong Kong. When I was
President of APPA I was invited to deliver Guest Lectures in several member
countries of the region. Just to complete my International profile, I was
awarded many short-term WHO fellowships and was a member of several WHO
committees. I was a member of the WHO Immunisation Practices Advisory Committee
(IPAC), based in Geneva, for three years and currently am a member of the
International Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) based in New Delhi.
Speedy: And in 1989 you were
awarded a prize for Social Paediatrics jointly by the WHO and International
Paediatric Association (IPA). What was the nature of this award?
Sanath: This was a
travelling fellowship worth USD 10,000.00 and I spent two
months in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and one month in
the Chulalonkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Speedy: Sanath, there is one
more thing which brought you a lot of Media attention. I am referring to the
Professor PriyaniSoysa Medical Malpractice case. If you don’t want to discuss
that please let it go.
Sanath: Speedy, I am
quite happy to discuss it. Let me outline the case. In May 1992 I was contacted
by my former RC classmate Shibly Aziz, to take over the care of the daughter of
a colleague of his, RienzieArsecularatne, both of whom were State Counsel in
the AG’s department. SuhaniArsecularatne was warded at Nawaloka Hospital, under
the care of Prof. PS. She was being treated for rheumatic chorea for over a
month by PS. I disagreed with the diagnosis as I detected that Suhani had very
brisk knee jerks in addition to the choreiform movements. As I
suspected a brain tumour, I requested for a CT scan of the brain, which
revealed a brain stem glioma, which proved to be inoperable. After Suhani passed
away a few months later, Rienzie filed a case against Priyani and was found
guilty in the District Court but was acquitted in the Appeals Court on a
technical issue. This was a landmark case in the annals of legal history in Sri
Lanka and received very wide publicity in the media. I gathered that this case
is quoted very often during lectures for law students, both in the Law Faculty
as well as at Law College.
Speedy: Sanath, we know a lot
about you now but as I indicated earlier, would you mind telling us something
about your own family, about your wife and your children?
Sanath: I am happy to
do so. Of course, I am proud of my professional achievements but I am even more
proud of my own family. As I already indicated, I married my wife
Buddhika, in February 1976 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Colombo. Our batch-mate
JanakaWijetunga was the best man. Buddhika was a Peradeniya graduate. At that
time only 75 guests could be invited and only a wedding cake and a soft drink
could be served. However, at the home-coming held at my home in Wellawatte
plenty of friends and relations were invited and plenty of food and drinks were
served. Buddhika returned home after obtaining the MRCP (UK) and was
appointed as OPD physician at Karapitiya. Later she assumed duties as Visiting Physician,
Homagama Hospital and retired as OPD physician, National Hospital. She was a
very kind hearted individual who helped many relatives who were
less well off. She was also very spiritual minded and attended dhamma talks and
participated in many meditation retreats. She accompanied me on my
numerous trips abroad. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed
to have ovarian cancer in November 2011 and survived only for two more years.
Speedy: Yes, when we learnt
about it, we felt a lot of sadness.
Sanath: Thank you
Speedy. I had a lot of support from family and friends for which I will always
be grateful. We had three lovely children who are all doing well I am happy to
say.
Speedy: What is your
spiritual side Sanath? Are you religious? What makes you tick?
Sanath: I am not the temple-going type and I don’t believe in rituals. I feel
that by doing an honest job of work very diligently, one acquires merit.
Speedy: Thank you very much.
I hope it wasn’t an intrusion! Do tell us about your children
Sanath: Not at all.
Regarding my children, our elder son Shamin was born in November 1976. He
attended Richmond College, Galle and later Ananda College, Colombo where he
represented the school in chess and badminton. He later entered the Colombo
Medical Faculty and captained the University chess team and was awarded
colours. After graduation, he specialized in rheumatology and is currently
working at the National Hospital. He is also very spiritually minded and
attends dhamma talks frequently.
Speedy: Taken after the mother!
Sanath: Indeed. Our second
son Harshan was born in January 1979. He attended Richmond College, St, Thomas’
(Mt. Lavinia) and Royal College. He did not like the way he was taught and we
had doubts whether he would enter a university. We purchased a coconut estate
in Weerapokuna so that one day he would be able to live off the land.(By the
way, as yet, Harshan has not visited the estate!) However, there was a dramatic change in his
career when I went to England with my family on sabbatical leave in March 1996.
He used to play scrabble in school and represented Royal
College at scrabble as well as the country. In England, he
participated in numerous tournaments and won many awards. He was invited to
appear on the popular Channel 4 TV programme, Countdown and
became the runner-up. Later he won the British National Scrabble title and
represented his adopted country as well. He attended Stenning Grammar
School and obtained five A’s at the London A level examination. Later he
entered Cambridge University and moved to Oxford for the clinical
studies. Currently, he is working as a consultant paediatrician in Swindon Hospital. He married Michelle Gunasekera in 2011 and
became a father last November. Last year he became runner-up at both the World Scrabble championship and British national
championship after resuming playing scrabble after an absence of many years.
Michelle is a registrar in nephrology in Oxford.
Speedy: I recall Harshan’s
Scrabble achievement and in fact, there is a post on our Blog about it from
Lucky on 27th August 2017. I find it fascinating to listen to
how your son changed over the years.
Sanath: Yes, it was a
great relief when he became more keen on his studies. My daughter Dilusha was
born in January 1983 and studied at Ladies College and VisakhaVidyalaya. She
graduated from the Colombo Medical Faculty, topping the batch with a first-class
scoring 4 out of 5 distinctions at the final MBBS examination and winning
eleven gold medals. She easily outshone her father who also topped his batch
but obtained only 2 out of 3 distinctions and a second class at the final
examination.
Speedy: Wow! That is an
amazing record. You must take some credit for it Sanath, I am sure genes had
something to do with it!
Sanath: I don’t know
about that! She married Upul Wickramarachchi and is currently in Norwich
on postgraduate study leave. Upul is a research fellow in cardiology in
Norwich. Dilusha delivered a son (my first grandchild) in June last year.
Speedy: Sanath, what have you done
since retirement from your post?
Sanath: My children
have advised me to enjoy life by travelling. I embarked on an Alaskan cruise in
August 2016 and a Baltic cruise in August 2017, both of which I enjoyed very
much. As the Rajarata Medical Faculty is short of staff, I volunteered to
teach there and was appointed as a Visiting Professor in April 2015. I visit
Anuradhapura, Monday to Friday alternate weeks. The students are very
appreciative of my decision as they are aware that I turned down three
invitations from SAITM, to join it. (Logistically and financially,I would have been better off at SAITM) Last year the
Vice-Chancellor of the Sabaragamuwa University, Professor Sunil Shantha,
invited me to be the consultant for the establishment of a Medical Faculty in
Sabaragamuwa. This faculty would be located in Ratnapura and 75 students would
be admitted this year. Currently, I am the Chairman of the Meththa
Rehabilitation Foundation which was founded by Dr B. Panagamuwa. I am also the
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Convalescent Home in
Thalagolla, which was founded by Professor C.C. de Silva in the early 1950s.
Speedy: Sanath, you
mentioned the Meththa Foundation. You are probably aware of the fact that the
SLMDA (Sri Lankan Medical and Dental Association in the UK), of which I am an
active member, strongly support Meththa and we have raised considerable sums of
money for it. Dr BandaraPanagamuwa who leads Meththa is a member of the SLMDA.
Sanath: Yes, I am aware of that and welcome your support wholeheartedly.
Speedy: With your long and
distinguished career which is by no means over, have you got any advice for young
doctors who are just embarking on a career?
Sanath: I always advise the students to spend more time in the wards rather than
in the library, so as to acquire clinical skills, which I did as a student. As
I am totally against strikes, at every opportunity, I advise them against
strikes as it is the poor people who suffer during GMOA strikes.
Speedy: That is very good
advice. Well, Sanath, we have travelled far
together in our two interviews and now I like to conclude this virtual
interview. Your story is also one that covers a period common to all of us
who graduated about the same time and has rekindled so many pleasant memories.
What you have achieved is something we are all very proud of. It has been an
immense pleasure to journey through your life and I wish to thank you for
agreeing to feature in the Speedy Interview and wish you all the best for the
rest of your journey.
