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| Wednesday, 11 June 2003 |
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by Kiran Bhamber and Emma Knights Twenty doctors from Colombo participated in a one day medical camp organised by Dr. Lakshman Weerasena, Chairman of Free Health Camps Islandwide. The camp was held at Kebithigollewa Central College in the NCP and provided free medical consultations and medicine to over 3000 people. Kebithigollewa has been heavily affected by the war which killed over 140 people over the past 8-9 years. Although this war has now ceased the region's health service is still suffering from the aftermath. There is a government hospital but it has only one doctor and a few nurses", said Dr. Raja Johnpulle, a former Minister of the North Central Provincial Council. The twenty doctors who participated in this camp offered their services voluntarily and worked tirelessly for over six hours without a break. Their dedication to medicine is truly inspirational. Each doctor saw approximately 150 people from the crowds which seemed to swell more and more at every moment. Some people travelled over twenty miles to get there and many began their long wait at 6 a.m. even though the camp did not open until 9.30 a.m. The long queues and the burning sun had taken their toll on some of the people causing at least one woman, P. N. Swarnalatha, to faint. Such an enormous response from Kebithigollewa's residents highlights a very definite need for investment in a better health service in this area. Forty-five year old T.W. Sunitha's story strongly highlights this. She was wrongly prescribed Prempak, a hormone replacement treatment. According to Dr. Johnpulle, this medication should only be used by women over 50 experiencing problems with menopause. T. W. Sunitha fits into neither of these categories. She paid over Rs. 1,000 for medicine which, far from helping her, could have potentially made her worse. The same doctor wrongly advised her to waste her money on an unnecessary thyroid test. According to Dr. Johnpulle, "The doctor who did this should be charged with medical malpractice". It would actually have been better if she had been too poor to purchase the medicine. For the majority the reverse is true. Though the farmers work hard they receive low and often unsteady incomes. Consequently medication prescribed by a doctor is often too expensive for them. Wijerathna has suffered from eating problems, a bloated stomach and pains in his arms for six months. He has received some treatment at a hospital but cannot afford to keep buying medication. He is extremely grateful that this camp is providing free medicine and wishes it would happen more often. "I think it's best to provide free medicine because the people here are so poor." However it's not just medicine which is needed but advice on healthy living too. Many of the residents seemed to suffer from similar symptoms such as asthma, malnutrition and tooth decay. This suggests that it is in part their lifestyle which contributes to their illnesses. Consequently steps need to be taken to educate these people about diet and healthy living. In an attempt to reduce tooth decay specifically, Dr Weerasena plans to encourage the use of non-fluoride toothpaste: he believes there is too much fluoride in the region's water and this combined with the fluoride in toothpaste has an extremely detrimental affect on teeth. The latter shows the importance of continuing to provide medical help once the camp is over. The people of Kebithigollewa all wish for more camps in the future but for this to happen sponsorship is needed. This camp was sponsored by E-WIS, an IT Company based in Colombo Sanjeewa Wickramanayake, a spokesperson for the company, comments, "We chose this project because we felt that Kebithigollewa was a very deserving area. We are looking forward to sponsoring a camp in the South also." Hopefully more companies will follow E-WIS's example so that Dr. Weerasena and his dedicated team of doctors will be able to continue their excellent work long into the future. The next camp will provide flood relief at Deniyaya on June 14-15. |
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