Key hospitals alert to face any emergency

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

The unit will divert patients to identified hospitals during future emergencies while security forces personnel will be given priority

The Health Ministry has requested all main hospitals to be alert to deliver the best service to the public in case of any emergency, a Ministry spokesman said.

He said this will help deliver a better service to the public if a significant number of patients demand the service at once. This arrangement will help the hospital network handle a large number of patients at once without any difficulty.

When one hospital is forced to handle a large number of patients at once, both patients and hospital authorities face difficulties without adequate staff, medical equipment and other facilities.

Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has already set up a special coordinating unit for this task under the leadership of Deputy Director General, Health Services, Dr. Vimal Jayantha. This unit has begun operating from the Ministry since Tuesday.

This unit will divert patients to identified hospitals during future emergencies while security forces personnel will be given priority, he said.

The unit has identified the 670 hospital beds that can be used during an emergency. Under this system 300 beds can be taken from Colombo National Hospital while the rest from Ragama Teaching Hospital, Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital and Gampaha, Negombo, Homagama, Horana, Panadura and Wathupitiwala Hospitals.

Under the same system, officials at Kandy, Kurunegala, Kegalle, Matale, Dambulla and Thambuththegama hospitals have been told to be alert to assist the Anuradhapura hospital during an emergency when a large number of patients seek treatment at once.