Private Health Services in Kandy

Letter to the Editor

Why are we treated so shabbily when seeking treatment at private hospitals? This happened in Kandy?

I was diagnosed with a possible heart condition, and was advised to consult a Cardiologist at a private hospital in Kandy and was told to be there at 5.00 a.m. When I joined the queue on the main public road after having obtained number 9, stood among 30 other patients to obtain numbers to consult different Doctors who would be visiting the hospital on that day.

I was led to a small room on the 1st floor and saw more than 70 to 80 patients, all crammed into the small area coughing, sneezing and wheezing. It is no wonder at all that I caught the flu there and am still suffering, at the moment I write this.

Despite obtaining number 9, I left the hospital at about 9.00 a.m. after an ‘echo’ - almost four hours after arriving at the centre!surely, cannot we, the public, who pay for these services, be treated in a humane manner, rather than be herded like cattle into a small space?

This hospital has no vehicle parking facility nor does it have an elevator to the upper floors, both very necessary for patients who seek treatment. I am not aware who owns it, but I do hope they would accept this letter in the spirit it is written and trust they would give a little thought to patients convenience and comfort. They, the patients, who bring in bulk of the income, not the Doctors. SENE SENEVIRATNE

WATAPULUWA

The patients who bring in bulk of the income, not the Doctors