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Revamping the private health care system

Sri Lanka has one of the best healthcare systems in the Third World, thanks to generous budgetary allocations by successive governments to maintain a free health service. Free education has also helped thousands of Lankans to become doctors and nurses and contribute to the well being of fellow citizens.

The private health care system - from rural dispensaries to large hospitals in Colombo - plays an important role in uplifting health standards. Now, government health authorities are planning to further streamline the private health sector to create more employment opportunities and to ensure an improved service. We reported on Saturday that the government was keen to remove barriers facing the private health sector such as complex procedures for registering doctors and nurses.

The main thrust of this initiative is the creation of a substantial number of jobs in the private health care system. Private health institutions have pledged to create 1,000 jobs within the next three months at a meeting with Health Minister P. Dayaratne. The job categories will cover technical fields and nursing.

This is a fine example of a public-private partnership for employment generation, a dire need in a country facing serious unemployment. There are indications that some of these youths will eventually be employed abroad after extensive hands-on training in Sri Lanka. This will earn a good name for our health professionals and also bring in much-needed foreign exchange.

Private hospitals have spent enormous amounts of foreign exchange to import advanced medical equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, which even the top government hospitals did not possess until fairly recently. There is no dispute that these equipment are prohibitively expensive to import and maintain. Buildings and personnel too cost a lot. But all these should not be excuses for fleecing the patients who patronise private hospitals, some of which are known to charge exorbitant fees even for medical tests and simple surgical procedures. Huge bills are the norm for even a couple of days' stay at some private hospitals.

Health authorities should scrutinise such practices with a view to curbing the excesses and giving the patients a fair deal. It is true that private hospitals are patronized only by certain segments of the population, but brazen exploitation of patients and their families should not be allowed to continue in any case.

Channelling, the one private health service that people from all social classes make use of, is another cause for concern. Some private hospitals thrive on this business, dedicating a whole floor or two to doctors' consultation cubicles. Channelling has more or less become a fad - people tend to consult a specialist at the first sign of illness. People from the remotest corners of Sri Lanka converge at channelling centres, spending thousands of rupees on doctors' fees and transport.

Educating the public that the same service and much higher levels of attention await them at the nearest government hospital or clinic, is vital. Furthermore, there have been cases of medical negligence at private hospitals, which must be investigated by health authorities. Such unprofessional conduct is a black mark on the whole healthcare system and stern action must be taken against medical personnel and hospitals implicated in these cases.

The government should encourage more local and foreign companies to invest in our health infrastructure, especially in non-urban areas. Thus, the establishment of local branches of overseas hospital groups has benefited the national economy. Increased competition among private hospitals will ultimately benefit patients from all walks of life.

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