Lanka made vast advances in cardiology field - PM

Within the last two decades our hospitals could undertake open heart by-pass surgery quite successfully, providing relief to thousands of heart patients of the country thereby stopping the drain of valuable foreign exchange, said Prime Minister D M Jayaratne at the inauguration of scientific sessions of Sri Lanka Heart Association held in Colombo. He added that Sri Lanka thus, has made vast advances in the cardiology field in the recent past

Following is the text of the speech:

May I at the outset thank the President of Sri Lanka Heart Association (SLHA) and members of the council of SLHA for the invitation extended to me to attend the inauguration of the scientific sessions of SLHA.

It is a great pleasure to associate myself at this very important event, which will undoubtedly contribute to the enhancement of the competencies and skills of nurses, technicians and allied grades who are actively involved in cardiac care in our hospitals.

It is a matter of great satisfaction and pride for us that there had been significant development in the cardiac field in our health sector within the last few decades.

Health services

Not only have we increased the cadre of highly specialised heart physicians and surgeons in the country but also have our major hospitals equipped with modern state of the art medical equipment needed for cardiac treatment and care.

The great strides the health sector had made in the cardiology field within the last few decades were due to the pioneering efforts of eminent cardiologists who laid a firm foundation for the development of this vital field.

We must recall with deep gratitude at this juncture the untiring services of these cardiologists whose names are indelibly inscribed in the history of the health services of the country.

The great names of Dr. L. R. Handy, Dr. N. J. Walloopillai, Dr S. J. Stephan, Dr. Theva Buell, Dr. A.W.P. Jayawardane among several others, come to my mind at this moment.

Their healing touch helped to save the lives of thousands of people afflicted with coronary heart diseases who sought treatment at government hospitals in the country.

These pioneering specialists provided services at the General Hospital, Colombo and at hospitals in principal towns in the provinces.

Not being content with day to day treatment of patients in hospitals they felt the urgent need to bring together the professionals in the cardiology field into an organization with a view to pool their knowledge, skills, talents and experience to develop this specialised field in our health sector.

That was how Sri Lanka Heart Association (SLHA) came into being. At an informal meeting convened at the residence of Dr. L.R. Handy in 1969 the first meeting of the SLHA was held. At this first meeting, Dr. L.R. Handy was elected the first President of SLHA. Several other specialists constituted the council of SLHA.

Professional association

The SLHA was officially formed as a professional association in 1972, and was registered as a company during Dr. Walloopillai’s Presidency of SLHA.

The President of the country is the patron of this prestigious organization. Over the years eminent professionals have functioned as chairmen and members of the council of SLHA and had contributed their valuable time and energy for the development of this field. I thank them profusely for their selfless service.

I find that SLHA takes much effort not only to improve the knowledge, expertise and skills of the doctors in the cardiology field but also of those who assist these professionals such as nurses and technicians.

Besides launching programmes for in-house training and skills development of all grades of personnel of the cardiology field, SLHA does quite considerable work to educate the public regarding heart diseases and preventive measures that the public should take to minimise such diseases. Towards this end SLHA organizes conferences, seminars, public talks, feature articles in the press, distribution of leaflets and counselling etc. for the benefit of the public.

Open heart by-pass surgery

I commend SLHA for this good work done for the health sector and for the public.

The members of SLHA are also the members of National Institute of Cardiology affiliated to the cardiac-surgical department of the National hospital which has the responsibility of training post graduate students in cardiology.

It is to the credit of the medical faculties of our universities that we could avail of the services of well educated young doctors passing out of these universities to man the hospitals in our country. But those who specialise in the cardiology field amongst them, we have observed, are not many.

I wish Institute of Cardiology and SLHA would provide more opportunities and encouragement to these young doctors to take to cardiology as their field of specialisation, so that we can have more and more heart specialists in the country.

We are happy that cardiology field had made vast advances in our country in the recent past. Within the last two decades our hospitals could undertake open heart by-pass surgery quite successfully providing relief to thousands of heart patients of the country thereby stopping the drain of valuable foreign exchange of the country. We have made advances in several other areas as well in the cardiology field such as paediatric cardiology, cardiac electro physiology and cardio thoracic surgery etc.

At this point I should mention the contribution of the private sector hospitals in the country towards cardiac surgery and care for the public, though at a fee, thereby lessening the burden of government hospitals.

The healthy competition among the private sector hospitals for providing specialised cardiac services had enabled equipping those hospitals with most up to date medical equipment especially in the cardiac surgery area. It is a good sign for the development of this important field in our health sector.

At a time when both the government and the private sector are actively involved in the improvement of efficiency of the health sector in the country, SLHC could provide the necessary direction and guidance for both sectors to further improve and develop the cardiac care and services to rival those of other countries in the region. I am confident that the laudable service rendered by SLHA for the health services of this country would continue for many more years to come. I wish scientific sessions of SLHA all success.