Top state-sponsored medical fair promotes private medical services

The ' Medicare 2013 National Health Care exhibition held last week at the BMICH in a way demonstrated how the government is attempting to distance free medical services from the people.

The 3-day exhibition organised by the Provincial Director of Health Services of the Western Province, almost entirely saw representation by private health care services while government medical institutions were sparingly represented.

With the inauguration last Friday (March 15) the exhibition appeared to be a huge promotional campaign for some private sector medical institutions, where all the leading private sector health care institutions provided visitors to the exhibition with free medical tests such as blood-sugar, ECG, eye testing and they were even examined by medical practitioners to ascertain whether those examined should be referred to further medical treatment.

At the inauguration Lalith Dissanayake, Deputy Minister of Health conceded that as much as 5,000 heart patients are awaiting heart surgery in the government hospitals. But he highly appreciated the services of such private medical services providers like the Nawaloka Hospital which performs a large number of heart surgeries annually.

He said that 60 per cent of the medical services are obtained through private sector medical institutions, though in the case of hospital services it would be 85 per cent provided by the government hospitals. The private sector medical services institutions, he said, have now become a very important part of the medical services in the country and indicated that they use most modern technology in keeping with world standards.

There were 40 exhibitors from India and Mr Dissanayake said that the country's closest neighbour too is assisting Sri Lanka in providing medical services to the people of this country.

Though listed as the guest of honour in the invitation to the exhibition, Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena, was absent at the inauguration. (QP)