The Neuro Hospital ‘Gift of the people for the people’

Deshamanya Vidyajyothi Dr J B Peiris, senior consultant neurologist

The Neuro Hospital (Institute of Neurology) on Kynsey road opposite the De Soysa Maternity Hospital, is 30 years old. It is a unique hospital built entirely from public donations in the short space of three years. The Lake House group of newspapers helped in no small measure to make this unusual project a success, by giving publicity to the project, the progress and donors.

The need for a Neuro hospital

Diseases of the nervous system affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. If they are not diagnosed early and treated adequately, the patient may be disabled for life. Even in the 1970s the patient with a neurological ailment did not receive the special attention they needed. A few beds were allocated in the general medical wards for the neurologically ill patient with little or no special attention. At that time there were no CT scanners or MRI scanners, and diagnosis depended on traumatic investigations like angiography, myelography and electromyography, for which there was a quota and a waiting list. The only non interventional investigation available was the EEG and even this machine was located in the surgical unit. Medical neurology was a much neglected specialty.

The beginning

Thus there was an urgent need for a specialized unit or hospital where neurological disorders could be diagnosed early and accurately and managed by specialized staff. It was the lack of these facilities that led to the concept of a separate Neuro hospital where all the facilities for diagnosis and treatment are available under one roof, as is available in the Institute of Neurology of today. To start this ambitious project was not easy. All the necessary items were missing viz: land, funds and a suitable contractor willing to undertake an unusual project without and advance or adequate safeguards for payment.

The land

With difficulty we found a narrow strip of land adjacent to the Kynsey road opposite the De Soysa Maternity home which served as garages for consultants. There were two obstacles - a large tree which needed special permission for felling and removal and the standby generator for the General hospital which had to be relocated at an immense cost, which we were able to obtain from the President's fund.

The architectural design

Having circumvented this initial obstacle, we had to have plans drawn for a custom built Neuro hospital. Fortunately, the Design Consortium headed by Navin Gooneratne came to our rescue by drawing the plans free of charge. He also requested Mohan Coomaraswamy to provide the necessary technical input and regular follow up of the building process.

The funds

The biggest challenge was still to come - obtaining funds. We were given the encouragement we needed by a donation for the ground floor by Milina Sumathipala, in memory of her husband. The first fund raising function was held in the official residence of the then Medical superintendent, Dr Joe Fernando with Hema Premadasa, the wife of the Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa as the chief guest. We needed a steady flow of funds to keep the building programme in motion and for this we needed an energetic committee. Fortunately, the Hospital Welfare Services of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress headed by Venerable Vipassi were able to muster a small dedicated committee for the purpose. It was virtually going round with a 'begging bowl' for a worthy cause. We had two regular meetings every week - on Sundays to discuss funding and Thursdays to discuss technical details. It was a 'turn key job' in construction parlance - build while collecting funds, in spite of which there wasn't a single day off work.

Big or small we needed them all

Although Milina Sumathipala promised funding for the ground floor, we needed 100 million more for the rest of the four floor building and the equipment and fixtures. We encouraged donations, both big and small, by giving publicity. The names of the donors to the Neuro Hospital fund were acknowledged weekly in the Ceylon Daily News. While we accepted even one rupee donations we encouraged donation of specific amounts for specific purposes. We specified amounts required for a bed, a bed unit with bed side locker, a unit. with 4-6 beds, a ward and a floor for those willing to give generously. The Health Ministry agreed to allow name plaques to commemorate significant donations. We had substantial donations both by individuals and organizations. There were also substantial donations in kind and materials like the terrazzo floor by Rovim concrete works and the ceramic tile facade by the Ceramic Corporation which gives a clean pleasant frontal appearance to the building. There are several donations worthy of special mention. There was the donation of a 25 acre coconut estate which we vested with the public trustee for sale by an auction and a coffee morning organized by the Doctor's Wives association headed by Chrissie Aloysius. Although there was a hospital lottery already in existence we were allowed to hold a special Neuro hospital lottery which depended mainly on private sales. We made a bare profit mainly because the first prize of Rs 300,000 was not claimed.

The progress

In spite of our dependence on donations for continued construction of the building, the progress was rapid and visible from the Kynsey road. Even so, funds were hard to come by initially but later it became almost a prestige to give a donation. Larger donations for units and wards carried the benefactor's name. Philanthropists, politicians, public figures, patients and relatives, all chipped with donations - big and small.

The Institute of Neurology

As the Neuro hospital has all the facilities under one roof, the Health Ministry agreed to name it an Institute. The ground floor has the ICU (with piped oxygen, ventilators and monitors), the outpatient department, physiotherapy and EEG departments and a lecture theatre. The first floor had the male, female and children's medical neurology wards while the second was the surgical floor. The third floor donated by the Colombo Commercial Company had the operating theatre and a paying wing.

Such a complete Institute with facilities of international standard encouraged many postgraduates to take up Neurology. When the project commenced there was only a single neurologist for the entire country. Now there are over 30 neurologists with consultants in every province and newer sub specialties like neurophysiology and paediatric neurology. The founder Patron of the Association of Neurologists can well be proud of this unique achievement and the change it has brought about in the specialty of neurology and the patients who suffer from neurological diseases.