Minister warns state hospitals:

Private lab testing out

*Circular out next week

*Poor should benefit from free health service

Nadira GUNATILAKE

State hospitals will not be allowed to send patients to private laboratories for medical tests if such facilities are available at the specific state hospitals. The relevant circular in this regard will be issued next week, a Health Ministry spokesman said.

According to the spokesman, Minister Maithripala Sirisena recently discovered that a racket is taking place at all state hospitals to send poor patients to private laboratories for medical tests, including blood, urine tests, while the same facilities are freely available at the state hospitals at no cost.

The Minister discovered this during an inspection tour of the Colombo National Hospital. Medical laboratories with all facilities are available in all main state hospitals in the country.

They are capable or running almost all basic medical tests such as blood and urine free of charge.

Arrangements will be made soon to provide laboratory facilities for more State hospitals and to upgrade existing laboratories, he said.

Minister Sirisena stated that the free healthcare service of the country is run from the taxes paid by the public.

Therefore the ordinary man is eligible to receive a quality and free health service from State hospitals.

They are not required to pay a lot and get medical tests from private laboratories.