Jaffna Bishop Instructs Manipay Hospital Board To Sever Ties With UK Charity FOMH

By Marlon Dale Ferreira –

The Medical Board appointed by the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India to oversee the interests of the Green Memorial Hospital Manipay, issued a notice addressed to Dr. Jayantha Arnold a Trustee of the UK based charity Friends of Manipay Hospital, that they will be severing all ties with them effective 31st of December 2022.

The custodians of Green Memorial Hospital Manipay, under the authority of the Medical Board and Executive Committee, chaired by Rev. Dr. D.S. Solomon deliberated and decided to terminate all contracts signed between Green Memorial Hospital Manipay and the charity Friends of Manipay Hospital

This decision was approved by the Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. D. Thiagarajah who is legally the head of Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India.

This meeting took place after Dr. Jayantha Arnold had earlier on the 12th of February 2022, sent an email to the Bishop Rt. Rev. Daniel Thiagarah expressing his desire and stating that the Charity Friends of Manipay Hospital does have the capability of upgrading Green Memorial Hospital’s services and also creating a revenue generating medium for Green Memorial Hospital to be paid 10% of the profits obtained after charging patients for certain services used, besides a range of other proposals as stated in his email below.

Dr. Jayantha Arnold in his email to the Bishop Thiagarajah wrote:

From: Jayantha Arnold
Sent: 12 February 2022 23:36
To: bishop thiagarajah
Subject: Further discussions on GMH

Dear Bishop Thiagarajah

I hope you continue to recuperate well. Please can we discuss the next steps for GMH by meeting in Colombo the week beginning 21st February when convenient to you.

We need to re-cast the relationship between JDCSI Medical Board, GMH management team, IMS and Friends of Manipay Hospital UK charity.

Since 2006 after forming the FOMH charity I have personally contributed £ 88,375.

A friend of mine contributed £25,000.00 directly to IMS from USA and another friend £ 50,000.00 to IMS via Manithaneyam Trust for training purposes.

I established IMS in 2012 to keep the legacy of the first medical school started by Dr Samuel Green in Manipay going.

There is a complete misunderstanding of the purpose and long term vision of IMS and also about the contribution of ring-fenced funding by donors for this purpose.

IMS seeks to link- up with the legacy of the first medical school in Ceylon and hopes that one day it will become an affiliate of the Medical Faculty of University of Jaffna retaining a campus on Green Hospital site for Medical Education.

I have a feeling that JDCSI local management team would like GMH turned into a modern day “Durdans ”.

It needs enormous investment to run a hospital and GMH has no financial ability to do so.

This has never been the vision of FOMH.

FOMH being a registered charity will only promote not for profit services and education.

Any services provided outside Jameson Block and Sellamuttu Block in the GMH site will be undertaken by IMS only if JDCSI requests us to do so.

The commissioner of these services will be the JDSCI Medical Board.

If JDCSI doesn’t make such a request, IMS will continue to function in Jameson Block and Sellamuthu Block until 23rd of July 2028 when the current agreement expires .

At this point we will review its future options for the services.

IMS is a non-profit organisation founded by FOMH and IMS has its own Trustees primarily to provide medical education and services that support such clinical education.

FOMH can of course sign a sub-contract with IMS. JDCSI Medical Board and FOMH needs to sign an agreement for the future.

Next steps

1. Rename IMS for purposes of usage (In UK this is known as trading name ). The suggestions for the new name have included Dr Green’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Green Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Green Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences.

2. IMS will provide medical services commissioned by JDCSI medical board. For legal and management reasons this would be by formal agreement. The agreement would outline the services that will be run by joint discussion and a nominal rent paid to the board.

3. The rentals already agreed between JDCSI Board and FOMH ( signed agreements already exist ) and are currently paid are as follows A. Jameson Block ( repairs of rs 10, million to make this usable was funded by myself ). Rs 35,000 a month B. Sellamuttu Block ( repairs of rs 5.5 million was funded by Sellamuttu family and ride4ceylon cyclists ) rs 15,000 a month C. Nurse Quarters ( repairs of rs 4 million funded by ride4ceylon cyclists ). Rs 25,000 a month To be agreed 1. Family Medicine block ( both up and lower floors ) rs 20,000 a month rent ( funded by Prof Thuraiappa to repair ) 2. Operating theatre will be a joint venture between JDCSI Board and IMS. A fee of 10 percent above actual cost charge will be given to JDCSI medical Board and IMS each. IMS will use the fund to repair buildings. The Operating Theatre management will be entirely done by IMS. 3. Rogers ward ( we spent rs 3 million on this ), Doctors quarters ( we spent rs 1 million on this ) and Medical superintendent’s quarters to be discussed when we meet

4. Urgent care centre and OPD consultations can be run by current GMH management team for the next few years and IMS can take over in due course if that is the wish of JDCSI. We have spent 1 million rupees on the up-keep of this block.

5. The Lab is best run by IMS I think. All equipment was funded by FOMH.

6. 10 rooms in upper floor of Centenary block is bringing revenue to GMH management team and its future can be decided at a later date.

7. More investment on infection control will be required from IMS for the operating theatre ( so far FOMH has spent rs 3 million on the operating theatre. 8. A new Xray unit has to be purchased by IMS. Cost is rs 5 million The name Green Memorial Hospital will of course be indelible and JDCSI name can feature on the sign boards as : ‘governed by ‘ or something similar underneath the GMH sign board. I look forward to a good discussion and to agree a way forward in the best interests of GMH. With best wishes Jayantha Arnold Prof Jayantha Arnold University of Hertfordshire and NHS London.

Sent from Outlook.

However in an email dated the 8th of August 2022, Rev. Dr. Solomons responding to the Trustee Jayantha Arnold expressed the Medical Board’s decision to terminate all signed contracts between the Green Memorial Hospital and the charity Friends of Manipay Hospital, highlighting the fact that the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India will never compromise on its vision nor permit any organisation to undermine the ethos and vision of Green Memorial Hospital.

Dr.Rev. Solomon’s also reiterated the fact that funds collected (as mentioned by the Trustees of the Friends of Manipay Hospital in their submitted documents pertaining to an ongoing case in the UK) from the cycle rides conducted by FOMH and ridden by cyclists of Riders4Charity in 2017 (UK Pounds 10,000), 2018 (UK Pounds 43,000) and cyclists of Ride4Ceylon in 2019 (UK Pounds 65,000), 2020 (UK Pounds 102,000) and 2022 (UK Pounds 35,000) were never received by the Green Memorial Hospital.

The notice sent by the Chairman Rev.Dr. Solomons of the Medical Board of the Green Memorial Hospital stated the following:

Dear Dr Jayantha Arnold,

The custodians of Green Memorial Hospital Manipay (JDCSI), under the auspices of the Medical Board and Executive Committee, chaired by Rev. Dr D.S. Solomon, met recently.

They deliberated thoughtfully as to what the future relationship should be between Green Memorial Hospital Manipay (GMH) and Friends of Manipay Hospital (FoMH).

All decisions taken were with the approval and guidance of Rt Rev. Dr. D. Thiagarajah, our bishop who is legally the head of JDCSI.

Our decisions are based on our past experiences with FoMH and a letter you wrote to Bishop Thiagarajah, dated 12/2/22, where you expressed that your long term plan is to take the whole of GMH campus to be used for a different purpose.

GMH was started by Dr Green in obedience to the call of God 175 years ago, to establish a Christian mission hospital in Manipay as a witness to God under the authority of the church. JDCSI will never compromise on this vision nor permit any organisation to undermine the ethos and vision of GMH.

At the request of our former Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. S. Jebanesan on 21/10/2004 you and three other trustees formed FoMH, for which we are thankful. We also appreciate that you have undertaken repairs of some buildings in the past.

FoMH was established primarily to help raise funds for GMH to repair the damage it had suffered during the civil war.

However, our recent experience shows that FoMH has gone beyond its original purpose and has not provided financial help to JDCSI in recent years for the management of the hospital, though funds are still being collected in the name of GMH.

In yearly cycle rides from 2017 to date, you have collected large sums of money using the name of GMH and Dr Green.

However, these funds have not been provided to GMH.

You have ignored our repeated requests (under our constitutional rights, as custodians) for information regarding the amounts collected.

You have also ignored our repeated request not to undertake any building repairs without the written permission of the head of JDCSI (letters dated 8/5/2021,18/2/2022).

We ask you once again to give us details of the funds collected in the name of GMH, which should be transferred to GMH.

We only recognise FoMH as the legally registered charity in the UK, authorised to collect funds to help GMH.

As funds being collected in the name of GMH are not being received by GMH, you are misleading donors, friends of GMH and the general public.

In view of the above reasons, JDCSI has decided to convey the following decisions to you taken under the leadership of Bishop Thiagarajah :-

1) GMH hereby gives you notice that it wishes to terminate all past agreements entered with FoMH (you can either give them 1 year’s notice, which is preferable, or 31/12/2022 but you should seek legal advice before doing this)

2) FoMH should cease collecting funds in the name of Green Memorial Hospital or Dr Green with immediate effect.

3) All funds previously collected in the name of GMH should be transferred to GMH.

Yours Faithfully

Rev.Dr.D.S.Solomon
Board For Medicalwork

Colombo Telegraph can confirm that Dr.Jayantha Arnold did send in a further email on the 10th of August 2022, in response to Rev.Dr.Solomon’s email dated the 8th of August 2022.

In his response Dr. Jayantha Arnold states that the FOMH is not a subsidiary of the JDCSI medical board and is an independent charity based in the UK.

Whilst it is true that the four Trustees Dr. Richard (Kirupa) Arnold, Bo Mills, Dr. Jayantha Arnold and Anandan Arnold appointed by the former Bishop S. Jebanesan decided to register a charity in the UK and also name it as the Friends of Manipay Hospital as instructed to do so, the original letter issued by the Bishop on the 21st October 2004, clearly indicated that it was only for the purpose of only helping to restore the Green Memorial Hospital.

It is in this backdrop that issues have now arisen, as the charity Friends of Manipay Hospital has shifted gears from the original mandate given by Bishop S. Jebanesan and moved onto playing a more active role now with its operational matters involving an Institution named the Institute of Medical Sciences that Dr. Jayantha Arnold claims to have registered it in 2012.

Dr.Arnold is on record stating that the creation of the Institute of Medical Sciences by him was done to help maintain the legacy of the founder of the Green Memorial Hospital Dr. Samuel Green and that it also comes under the purview of the charity FOMH.

But what is quizzical to note is that one of his own fellow Trustees Dr. Richard (Kirupa) Arnold who subsequently resigned from the charity FOMH on the 18th November 2019, claims that he had no clue about the registration of the Institute of Medical Sciences until 2022, when all these current issues arose.

Dr. Jayantha Arnold whilst ending his responsive letter to the Medical Board of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of India provided his own prediction regarding the future of Green Memorial Hospital if in the event the services of Institute of Medical Sciences were to be discontinued and ended it by stating that he will be handing the decision of having all signed contracts between the GMH Medical Board and the charity Friends of Manipay Hospital to his legal team as stated below:

“In the event that JDCSI were to seriously insist on terminating the agreements without considering the future of the hospital, the consequence has to be fully understood by the JDCSI Board, as the hospital will face certain closure at the end of 5 years when IMS will have to disengage from GMH.

Hospitals are regulated by Sri Lanka Medical Council, Private Health Services Regulatory Council and the Regional Director of Health. Needless to say none of these authorities will countenance the ongoing registration of GMH as a private hospital in the event of such a big fall-out with the medical establishment that ensures the existence of the hospital as a functioning hospital.

Please note that all future correspondence to FOMH should be between our respective legal teams and I will not be able to get into any correspondence directly with any member of JDCSI medical board including yourself, if you are intending to proceed with termination of agreement (with the mandatory notice period of 5 years).

We will be happy to let our legal team know as to who you appoint as your legal representatives once you give us that information so that all communications can occur between the legal teams.”

Colombo Telegraph in its next edition will publish a story where David Rasiah best described by FOMH Trustee Dr. Jayantha Arnold as the main engine that drives the ride4ceylon fundraising cycle projects, confesses that ride4ceylon and the Institute of Medical Sciences did in fact pocket the donated funds of a particular fundraising project that they did once conduct.

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