Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said the Mannar District General Hospital, which provides tertiary healthcare services to nearly 200,000 people living in the Mannar district, will be transformed into a full-fledged hospital with physical and human resources.
The Minister was speaking during a discussion following a special inspection of the Mannar District General Hospital recently.
The Minister said that as agreed upon with the Northern Provincial Council, the Mannar District General Hospital will be taken over by the Central Government and developed under a specific development plan to provide quality, optimal health services to the people living in the Mannar District.
The Minister also said that the Central Government will allocate Rs. 500 million to develop the physical resources of the hospital. He said that Rs. 250 million will be provided this year and the remaining Rs. 250 million next year.
The Minister said that the Hospital Management Authority had informed him that there was a dearth of health staff working in the hospital, from specialist doctors to the lowest level employee.
Steps will be taken to attach a certain number of staff who are completing their training, staff who are to be recruited, and doctors who are returning to the country after completing their foreign training to the hospital.
Minister Jayatissa inspected all areas of the Mannar District General Hospital, including the outpatient department, clinic premises, all wards, pharmacy, emergency treatment unit, kitchen, drug store, laboratory, blood bank, medical quarters, health staff quarters and hostels, during the inspection tour.
The Minister also inspected the proposed site for the construction of the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Mannar District General Hospital premises with a financial contribution of Rs. 600 million from the Government of India.
The Minister paid special attention to the problems faced by the health staff in performing their services and took steps to provide short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to those problems by inquiring at length about them at a special discussion held with the Hospital Management Authority, specialist doctors, doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
The control of communicable and non-communicable diseases affecting the people of the Mannar district, the current nutritional status of children and mothers and the implementation of future nutrition programs, provision of Thriposha to the offices of the Health Medical Officers, transportation problems of field officers and practical problems were discussed at length with the Director of Health Services of the Northern Province, Director of Health Services of the Mannar District and the Health Medical Officers and Chief Medical Officers. Minister Jayatissa took steps to provide solutions to the problems that arose at that time.
Dr. Jayatissa said the Ministry of Health is taking steps to provide a CT scan machine to maintain patient care services in a systematic and efficient manner, and it was also revealed during this discussion that the relevant procurement process and procedures are currently being carried out expeditiously.
