The Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town, District 3220 – Sri Lanka and the Maldives donated three portable ventilators and two CPAP/ BiPAP machines to the Colombo National Hospital recently.
This was initiated as a joint project with the Rotary Club of Falköping of District 2380 – Sweden, and was facilitated through a global grant received by The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International at a cost of Rs. 5.8 million. Jennifer Berg, Regional Grant Officer, Rotary Grants, The Rotary Foundation, Evanston, USA attended the event.
Speaking at the event Dr. Aruna Gunapala – Consultant Physician Ward 45 of the National Hospital emphasised the importance of the Ventilators and the CPAP machines due to the lack of ICU beds at the National Hospital. He said that only 10 ICU beds are available at the National Hospital which is far below the minimum requirement. He said, Doctors and other Medical staff try their best to protect the lives of patients who require respiratory support even with these limitations, using manual ventilators. However, manual ventilators can cause more damage to the patient’s lungs. “I have no words to express my gratitude. This is a lifesaving project” he said.
The project was spearheaded by PDG ThariqThulba,Dr. YusryMohideen, Past President and Hussein Fazleabas, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town.