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A hearty compliment

Sri Lanka’s medical fraternity received an overwhelming compliment from a visiting US Cardiac surgeon who claimed that when it came to open heart surgery Sri Lanka was on par with the best in the world.

The two time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Jeremy R. Torstveit in am interview carried on our front page yesterday particularly singled out the commitment and selfless dedication by both local doctors and the Government authorities.

He said “children’s heart surgery has progressed beyond anything I could have imagined since my first visit to Sri Lanka in 1991”.

While acknowledging child heart surgery as a barometer in gauging success in general cardiac surgery, he said the waiting period of a patient to undergo an operation had come down from more than a year sometime back to less than six months today.

This certainly is a ringing endorsement on the skill and competence of Lankan doctors for which the country could be justly proud of. It is also an example of how Lankan professionals have progressed over the years and goes onto underscore the point made by the President when he invited professionals living overseas to help in the Government’s development drive.

The claim by no less a personage than a famous American heart surgeon that we have medicos who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world is certainly a vote of confidence in the country’s health sector as a whole.

This we hope would encourage more of the rich and mighty who consider it fashionable to have their medical check ups done abroad to have a change of heart, so to speak.

Coming from a Nobel price nominee no less this indeed could have a reverse effect and it is hoped before long we would have foreigners visiting our shores purely for medical attention at the hands of local doctors. Such ‘medical tourism’ while boosting the country’s image internationally could also promote Sri Lanka as more than just a tourist destination.

The kudos received by our heart surgeons would also mean that Sri Lanka has moved ahead with the latest developments in the world in the medical sphere and for this the Government should be commended for affording all the opportunities and facilities to our doctors to hone their skills and enhance their capacities.

In fact all successive Governments should be credited for creating the necessary infrastructure to raise the standards of healthcare in the country. It cannot be denied that our health sector has gained recognition as of one the best in the Asian region. All Governments have contributed over the years towards attaining this status.

For the last 30 years or so, Governments have allocated massive sums for health despite a mounting defence expenditure. This in itself is a creditable achievement.

In fact we have a health sector that we could be proud of given the drastic decline in infant mortality rate surpassing or at least matching many developed countries. Other indices such as life expectancy are also on par with those of the developed world.

We have some state-of-the-art hospitals in the country and our doctors have been provided with all facilities to improve their skills. The State has also increased funding for overseas training and scholarships for doctors which have given them the much needed exposure to further their skills.

That the country’s health sector has leapfrogged to meet 21st century challenges was amply proved by the recent appointment of Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva to head the WHO, an office which is not lightly conferred. All Lankans should take pride in these achievements and be supportive of our professionals.

It is time that we start recognising the worth of our own professionals instead of always paying pooja to everything and everyone foreign. We frequently hear of Sri Lankans who have gone places in foreign climes competing on par with the best in the world in various fields of endeavour.

It is a pity that we have been unable to retain their services for the benefit of the country. The Government should make every endeavour to stem the brain drain and retain the services of these professionals for the vast development projects that have been earmarked.

Sri Lanka which earned a dubious reputation as being capable of only exporting housemaids has given the lie to this thesis. We have come a long way since those days and our professionals have now come to the stage of giving their skills to the outside world.

It is incumbent therefore on the Government to afford all encouragement to enhance this pool of skilled resources that could be marketed even in more advanced countries.

Our need is ruralisation not urbanisation

From the Gama Neguma concept:

“From Minneri (Minneriya) we went to Kowdelly Tank (Kaudella)...It is impossible to imagine anything wilder than the scenery. Herons and Bitterns, sat like statues, on their accustomed perches, as our cavalcade passed, so unaccustomed were they to see, or fear man.

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The Magic of Wimbledon

In 1977, the centenary year of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, while the Ladies Final between Britain’s Virginia Wade and Betty Stove from the Netherlands was being played on the Centre Court, the last rehearsal for the world premiere the next evening of a new play by Tom Stoppard with music by Andre Previn was in progress at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Jetliner - Swiftest link between North and South

Mega troop carrier hallmark of efficiency:

Pitch darkness was engulfing the entire Trincomalee harbour as the clock ticked midnight switching us to another date. Except for the rising moon and a few essential guiding lights, there was no other source of lighting to see what was going on there.

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