Hearts can be mended better 

An aspect that has improved in the health sector is the cardio vascular units, a prime need given the country’s increasing number of heart patients.

Most government hospitals when contacted by The Sunday Leader had their spokespersons confirming the availability of sufficient cardiologists.

The number of cardiologists at each hospital differs in number but is sufficient according to the hospital administrators to treat the large number of patients who enter government institutions.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader Director, Colombo General Hospital, Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said they had four cardio surgeons at the Cardio Vascular Unit in the hospital.

He added that all their stocks of pharmaceuticals were supplied by the Medical Supplies Division (MSD). “We place our orders for stocks of pharmaceuticals one year in advance with the MSD.  If the MSD runs short in some supplies of pharmaceuticals we purchase the required drugs from Osu Sala,” Dr. Weerasinghe explained.

Accordingly, the hospital staff’s priority is to increase the number of surgeries performed at the cardio vascular unit every year. “Depending on the available resources we hope to perform more operations this year,” he said.

The Sri Jayewardenapura Hospital  has two cardiologists working in the cardio vascular unit.

“Two cardiologists are more than enough for us to be of good service to our patients. We have an experienced team at the hospital and offer very reasonable charges in comparison to private hospitals when it comes to surgeries,” a top official said.

Accordingly, the Sri Jayewardenapura Hospital gets its supplies of pharmaceuticals from the MSD. “90% of our pharmaceuticals are supplied by the MSD. However if the MSD is out of stock of some drugs that we require, the hospital calls for quotations and purchases them from the cheapest supplier,” the official said.      

Director, Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila, Dr. W. G. Gunewardene said his hospital had one cardiologist at the cardio vascular unit. “We can manage with one cardiologist for the moment. If a situation arises where the number of patients suddenly increases we refer these patients to the National Hospital. We get our pharmaceutical supplies from the MSD. But if the MSD is out of stock drugs that we require are purchased from Osu Sala,” Dr. W. G. Gunewardene said. 

However, he said that it would help improve the hospital if the services of another cardio surgeon could be obtained for his hospital which is one of the busiest in the country.

Manpower shortage at crisis level 

Shortage of manpower continues to plague almost every hospital in the government sector. Chief among them is the shortage of nurses while a shortage of MLTs and pharmacists is also causing concern.

Investigations conducted diagnosed grave complications due to overcrowding.

A spokesperson for the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila said the overcrowding at the Kalubowila Hospital is caused because patients chose to bypass regions such as Matugama, Agalawatte, Horana and even Wattala and come to the Kalubowila Hospital.

Meanwhile the Director of the Hospital, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said that the Colombo South Teaching Hospital has no problem as regards facilities and infrastructure.

“The hospital has continued to grow and improve since 1989,” he said.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital when contacted by The Sunday leader said they had no problems as regards drugs and surgical consumables such as gauze, suture materials and catheters.

But the CT Scanner at the hospital had ceased to function months ago and the hospital authorities have been severely hampered by this. 

He observed that a shortage of nurses was also causing some problems in the hospital. “We hope to remedy this situation soon as we have advertised for nurses.”

Meanwhile, investigations revealed that patients admitted to the National Hospital have to undergo severe hardships due to the acute shortage of beds. Patients who visited the OPD also complained of difficult and stuffy conditions there.

Director, National Hospital, Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said the hospital has embarked on several large-scale projects that will be completed by the end of the year and among them is the expansion of the OPD.

The plan for the development of the OPD requires Rs.1,000 million (Rs.1 billion). The expansion plan is to commence this year and the end of the expansion project will see the OPD in a landscaped area. The approximately two acres of land at the present OPD will house the new OPD with a large area to be landscaped complete with parking for 300 vehicles.

He added that a third medical wards complex in the form of a 10 storied high rise building was also being planned.

He said that the National Hospital does not have a shortage of doctors and consultants but admitted to a shortage of nurses, paramedics, MLTs and pharmacists.

Non implementation of drug policy causing chaos — GMOA

Government’s failure to introduce the much-talked of Senaka Bibile’s drug policy has resulted in the inflow of quality-failed and high cost drugs to the market, claims the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).

What is more, this has resulted in having to destroy drugs worth several million rupees as the imports were of absolute low quality, charges Assistant Secretary, GMOA, Dr. Upul Gunasekera.

He told The Sunday Leader that Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva’s failure to introduce the drug policy proposed by the late Prof. Senaka Bibile was a key reason for the flooding of low quality drugs in the market.

“If implemented, patients would have got the best medicine here,” Dr. Gunasekera opined.

“While Sri Lanka shies away from implementing an acceptable drug policy to curb the pharmaceutical mafia, other countries have been quick to emulate this example,” he added.

He queried how there was a free flow of low quality and sometimes banned drugs reaching Sri Lanka without the Health Ministry’s blessings.

“This is a vital area that requires government mediation. Nobody should be allowed to import quality failed and short span drugs. These drug importing companies or their agents have not been black listed either.

Dr. Gunasekera argues the decision to divide the original State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) into two — the SPC and State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Company (SPMC) deprives poor patients of getting the best medicine.

Illegal drug racket probe at standstill 

Despite the detection of a large stock of substandard drugs unsafe for human use together with medical equipment supplied by one Vadivel Siwaneswaran, the scam is yet to be probed despite the enormity.

Believed to go in to millions, this racket was detected by the then Director, Medical Technology and Supplies, Ministry of Health, Dr. B. F. S. Samaranayake.

But the 2006 detection has not led to any conclusion with present Director, Medical Technology and Supplies, Ministry of Health, Dr. H. Benaragama admitting that he is still to go through contents of the said file.

In this particular case, the Mattakkuliya based medicinal drug dealer has distributed stocks declared as ‘unfit for human consumption’ amongst several leading pharmacies in the country. “There is so much of illegal and duplicate drugs available, but the Ministry takes no responsibility nor does it do its duty to curb the practice. We all know why,” a GMOA member said.

CT scanners out of order  

The latest incident of a young life being lost due to medical negligence is reported from Kalubowila. Six-year-old Senuki Chandrasekera had to die in vain due to lack of medical equipment in Panadura, Colombo South General Hospital Kalubowila and the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children.

According to members of the Chandrasekera household, the vehicle in which Senuki, her grandfather and uncle were travelling in met with a train accident recently. Since the grandfather and the uncle remained unconscious after the narrow escape, the onlookers immediately rushed little Senuki to the nearest hospital for treatment. She also did not show any external injuries.

At the Panadura government hospital, its CT Scanner was out of order. Then she was rushed to Kalubowila and from there to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, only to discover that all these hospitals had their vital CT Scanners out of order.

Finally, Senuki was transferred to the Colombo National Hospital. Although a CT scan was done, little Senuki soon bid goodbye to this world. 

Quality-failed drugs worth Rs. 500 million to be destroyed

A massive stock of drugs worth over Rs. 500 million is to be destroyed shortly due to it being unfit for human use.

General Secretary, All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU), Gamini Kumarasinghe told The Sunday Leader that 18 container loads of date-expired and quality failed drugs worth over Rs.500 million were stacked at the CPC Ratmalana stores, to be destroyed.

“This is public money. Why do we have a Health Ministry if the quality of drugs cannot be monitored,” claimed Kumarasinghe.

According to him, a shortage of kidney, cancer, diabetes, thyroxin and pressure tablets in the country has caused immense hardship to poor patients relying on government medical supplies.

“The Ministry has failed to increase the number of pharmacists, physiotherapists and radiographers although the demand has increased enormously. Meanwhile the service providers — security services, cleaning services and food suppliers have not been paid for the past few months,” he further charged.

Cancer patients suffer from toxic rules 

The new administration at the Cancer Institute Maharagama is causing heartburn among patients.

Patients and hospital workers told The Sunday Leader that new rules imposed by Hospital Director Dr. Sulochana Yoganathan are worrying both patients and doctors.

“Soon after the changes in the administration, the medical supplies division is precluded from releasing medical supplies sans her authorisation. “We don’t oppose the decision.  But it is practically tough to have vital supplies released when Dr. Yoganathan is out of the hospital premises,” staff members said.

Besides, the newly issued instructions have also deprived the patients of the highly nutritious protein diet offered by the hospital, they said.

“Unlike other patients, cancer patients daily require a highly nutritious protein diet. But this meal is now missing,” a doctor attached to the Institute said.

Another category that suffers from the new regulations is donors. They too are reportedly hampered by the newly introduced regulations.  As a result, doctors attached to the Institute said there was a sharp decline in donations received. “Here is one important institution that needs all the help it can muster. We are always having less than what is required to treat our patients and now, not just the spreading of cancer, but regulations too can kill the patients,” some doctors said.

As a result, though poor, patients were compelled to purchase their medicines from outside at exorbitant prices.

Inside sources say that not only are patients put on the floor after surgery, but also the main operating theatre itself is in a cancerous mess.

Cancer surgery is carried out from 8 a.m to 6 p.m. everyday including Saturdays at the Cancer Institute, Maharagama — also called the Cancer Hospital.

The main operating theatre is an old kitchen which has been converted to an operating theatre and has been in existence since the early 1960s. It is learnt that surgeons and the staff of the operating theatre are put to great risk and inconvenience due to the non-availability of a proper operating theatre. There are hundreds of patients at the Cancer Hospital and the numbers keep increasing.

Attempts to contact Director, Cancer Institute Maharagama, Dr. Sulochana Yoganathan to obtain a comment proved futile.

Fact file

Total number of hospitals - 612

National Hospitals - 1

Teaching Hospitals - 20

Provincial General Hospitals - 3

District General Hospitals - 18

Base Hospitals type A - 21

Base Hospitals type B - 44

District Hospitals -124

Peripheral Hospitals -100

Rural Hospitals - 183

Estate Hospitals -12

Special Hospitals - 3

Others are the minor OPDs and maternity hospitals

Specialised doctors - 1013

Medical officers - 11,054

Administrative grade doctors - 128

Number of hospital beds in the country - 66,835

Number of nurses 24,459

Total medical staff including doctors and nurses – over 103,000