Regional Director seeks Health Ministry support to staff and restore hospital to positive mentally-ill patients

“If we get the support of the Health Ministry to get a proper staff cadre from the Kandy, Peradeniya and Gampola Hospitals which come under the ministry, we can revert the UdagamaAtabage Hospital to treat COVID-19 positive patients who are mentally ill,” said the Kandy Regional Director of Health Services, Dr.

Senaka Thalagala when contacted by the Sunday Times.

He said that the hospital was closed to COVID-19 mentally ill patients when there was an abatement in the pandemic and there were no patients. There were also calls from the people in the area to make it the divisional hospital it was, prior to this. Currently, it is functioning as such.

“I understand the need of mentally ill patients when they get COVID-19 and we can restore hospital if we have the staff,” said Dr. Thalagala, adding that he needs the help of the ministry in finding the staff.

The Sunday Times understands that even when mentally ill COVID-19 positive patients were being treated there, in a separate section people from the area were being given outpatient treatment at the hospital.

The long-term plan, it is understood, was to convert the Udagama-Atabage Hospital to a heroin detoxification and treatment centre, a first in the country, once the pandemic abated.