Free stents not this year; sales continue at exorbitant prices

The provision of free stents for heart patients has been shelved till next year due to the lack of budgetary allocations this year -- while private company sales representatives are hanging around the Cardiology Unit selling stents at exorbitant prices.

Health Ministry Secretary Anura Jayawickrema said the

Government had earlier promised to provide stents free of charge this year, but this would not be possible. He said a committee comprising top officials and cardiologists would discuss the costs, the quality, the quantity and other aspects before importing the stents next year.

Last week, Health, Minister Rajitha Senartne said arrangements were underway to provide stents free of charge to heart patients at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.2 billion.

He said the Government wished to intervene because private companies were selling low quality stents at exorbitant prices. Sri Lanka Heart Association President Dr. Rohan Gunewardena welcomed the move saying several patients with coronary diseases needed stents. He said that even those who needed bypass surgery but had no means of doing it were managing with stents.

He said it would be beneficial as buying stents from outside was expensive and beyond the means of the common man. The prices could range from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 250,000. The stents would be less costly when the Government called for tenders and bought in bulk, he said.

Dr. Gunawardena has been trained in Cardiac Electrophysiology at Royal Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. His expertise is in management of cardiac rhythm disorders, syncope and resynchronization therapy for heart failure.

He said the stents would be given on a first come first basis, but those with multiple blocks and serious conditions would be given preference.

Commenting on pharmaceutical companies whose sales representatives hang around selling stents at the Cardiology Unit of the National Hospital, Dr. Gunawardena said that at present they are a ‘necessary evil’ because of the non-availability of stents in the hospital.

P. Sayanthan, president of the Chamber of Medical Devices Industry said, he was confident the demand for the stent will not drop as the Government could not give stents free of charge to all heart patients.

He said they would also be able to sell their stents in private hospitals.