Lack of pre-hospital service in Sri Lanka, pitfall in developing healthcare sector

Death rates in Sri Lanka are rising every year due to accidents and many other natural disasters.

One of the critical problems that Sri Lanka has is the lack of a pre- hospital service where death could be prevented by means of calling the ambulance and reaching the hospital on time. There are only a limited number of ambulances which provide pre- hospital service in the country in most government and private hospitals.

This week the Indian government sought to change that, exchanging letters with the Sri Lankan government to provide a free emergency response service ambulance to the public. The event was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo last Wednesdy.

Indian High Commissioner Y. K Sinha speaking at the event said that this initiative was taken when the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka in March this year, to replicate in Sri Lanka a service that exists in over 17 Indian states and union territories where emergency ambulance services are provided.

GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute is an Indian company with many credentials having run this great public private partnership initiative all over India. The same company has been selected to implement the project in Sri Lanka as well, added Mr. Sinha.

Under this new project, the Indian government has decided to fund Phase 1 of providing 88 emergency ambulance services which will extend throughout the Western and Southern provinces of Sri Lanka at an estimated cost of $7.5 million.

Secretary to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Saman Ekanayake said that the first phase of the project will cover eight million people in the Western and Southern provinces of Sri Lanka. A project of this nature fulfills a timely requirement of the country, would be of immense benefit to improve the standards of the healthcare system especially in the rural areas of the country. The emergency ambulance service is a very innovative and integrated model of emergency response service which has earned the goodwill and confidence of the people of India by saving millions of lives since its inception. This pre-hospital service will improve and enhance the country's capacity to manage major incidents, accidents and disasters. This would also help preserve life and promote quick recovery to people suffering from emergency child birth, accidents and disasters.

Director General of Health Services, Dr. Palitha Mahipala said that this is one of the critical areas Sri Lankan health system lacks. The country is doing well in health and when one compares the healthcare indicators with the regional and extra regional countries, Sri Lanka is at the top. "We are lacking in providing pre- hospital care. In our healthcare system patients with emergencies have to find their own way to come to the hospital. We have to improve the health care system delivery and embark upon pre- hospital care services and this is a great opportunity for us to have this service in Sri Lanka," added Dr. Mahipala.

Indian High Commissioner Y.K Sinha speaking at the event said that this initiative was taken when the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka in March this year, to replicate in Sri Lanka a service that exists in over 17 Indian states and union territories where emergency ambulance services are provided. GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute is an Indian company with many credentials having run this great public private partnership initiative all over India. The same company has been selected to implement the project in Sri Lanka as well, added Mr. Sinha.