From VOA Iranawila to state-of-the-art COVID-19 Management Centre
Awhile ago, those travelling along the ChilawPuttalam Road at dawn would see what they thought were “red eyes” glinting and glimmering in the distance.
It was the Voice of America radio station at Iranawila leased by the Sri Lankan government to the United States of America set on around 500 acres with a network of roads, drainage canals, fences and modern office buildings as well as service connections to public utilities and onsite self- generated power.
Handed back to the Sri Lankan government in 2017, Iranawila which was in disuse has now metamorphosed into a state-of-the-art COVID-19 Management Centre for the Puttalam district which opened its doors on April 7.
It is from Medical Administrator Dr. Dimuth Ponweera transferred from east to west, from the Eravur Base Hospital, that we hear the minute details of ‘ Operation Iranawila’. He was not new to the area, having been the Medical Superintendent of the Marawila Hospital for five years and also Acting Deputy Regional Director of Health Services ( RDHS) for Puttalam for a brief period.
“Iranawila is the result of excellent supervision, coordination and teamwork,” says Dr. Ponweera before casting his eye to the recent past when Marawila became a hotspot for suspected COVID- 19 patients with a large number of people returning from Italy.
Both micro and macro-level planning was done simultaneously, he points out, explaining that while construction was underway staff training was initiated on site by Consultant Microbiologist Dr. Thushara Senanayake with practical training taking place at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Angoda, and the Homagama Hospital.
Two potential sites, the Madurankuliya Education Centre and Iranawila were identified with the support of Puttalam’s Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Nimal Perera on March 18, for quarantine/ isolation and treatment of patients. This had followed a meeting held at the Marawila Base Hospital which was a newly-dedicated isolation centre, being told of the limitations of space and concerns over disease spread there by Consultant Physician Dr. Chandana Abeysinghe.
The spotlight had then fallen on the Iranawila complex as a longterm plan for outbreaks of this nature, with Health Ministry Directors Dr. Sudath Dharmaratne and Dr. Priyantha Atapattu visiting the premises along with a team from the RDHS office and the Marawila Hospital.
A report had been submitted by the RDHS, Dr. Dinusha Fernando, to the Director-General (DG) of Health Services, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa approving the project by 6 p.m. the same day and the keys to the complex being handed over to the DG who acquired the premises under the powers vested in him by the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance.
Action followed soon after, with the Iranawila keys being handed over on March 23 to the Puttalam RDHS, Dr. Fernando, by Dr. Dharmaratne, the Project Director who represented the ministry’s Directorate of Healthcare Quality and Safety.
Dr. Ponweera says that a novel thing was that support for the project was forthcoming without reservation from the area’s political leadership, administrators, police, army, religious leaders and supply providers. Many doctors too from the area and outside provided their exper tise including Dr. Abeysinghe; Puttalam Hospital’s Consultant Community Physician Dr. Thushani Dabrera; and Kandy National Hospital’s Consultant Microbiologist Dr. Mahen Kothalawala.
He pays tribute to the many donors who had also come forward to support this national cause and include Sri Ram Construction; Lalan Eco Latex Mattress; Independence Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd, Colombo; INSEE Cement; Orel Corporation; Lanka Tiles & Royal Ceramics Lanka; Weehena Farm; Hybrid Vehicle Services, Marawila; Asiri Group of Hospitals; and lawyer Lalantha Ranasinghe.
At the first Steering Committee meeting held at the Madampe office of the RDHS, a deadline had been set for the completion of the Iranawila project on April 7, with the Engineering Directorate of the army taking on the onerous task of seeing to all the constructional aspects.
Now the 40- bed Iranawila COVID- 19 Management Centre opened on schedule on April 7 with a staff of 40 (medical, nursing and other) is fully functional.