May 13, Ratnapura: Preliminary inquiries have revealed that not only the nurses but also the doctors in the Ratnapura government hospital are responsible for the deaths of six patients including three newborn babies during the recent nurses' strike, Health Ministry sources said.

The strike action was initiated by the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) backed nurses’ trade union over a trivial dispute with the doctors.

The sources further said that the Ministry is planning to take strict disciplinary action against those doctors and nurses who are responsible for the deaths. The investigation reports will be submitted to the Attorney General within the next few weeks, the sources added.

Commenting on the inquiries, the sources said one woman had died due to diabetes as the nurses had refused to give medicine for more than five hours. The doctors too had neglected to transfer the patient to another hospital and robbed her of her chance for survival, said the sources.

The deaths of the patients were however, exploited immensely by the strike oriented white collar trade union, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) to sling mud at its arch rival Nurses Trade Unions. Sri Lanka's public health care system is plagued by the doctors' and nurses' strikes.