SAITM to open first private teaching hospital

Indunil HEWAGE

South Asian Institute of Technology and Management (SAITM) will commence operations of Sri Lanka’s first and largest private sector teaching hospital “Dr.Neville Fernando Sri Lanka- Russia Friendship Teaching Hospital” in Malabe by the end of September, this year.

The 1,002 bed high-tech hospital will be the latest addition to the hospital industry in private sector and approximately Rs 1.8 billion has been invested for the entire hospital project. The hospital will be staffed by trained and experienced nurses and para-medical staff and will have special units for medicine, pediatrics, dialysis, surgery, nuro, psychiatry, orthopedics and others,Dr Sameera Senaratna , Director and Consultant of Faculty of Medicine, South Asian Institute of Technology and Management said.

The hospital will offer a quality medical care at affordable prices and hospital will reserve 20 % of the operational bed capacity for the benefit of the less privileged patients with offering free beds and medical care at a concessionary prices.There will also be paying ward beds for patients who have the option of obtaining the luxury services as well.

“We will look at possibilities to obtain the assistance of the well experienced Russian doctors for the teaching hospitals once the existing regulatory requirements are amended enabling them to work in the Sri Lankan hospitals,” Senaratna said.