Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday said that 600 nurses will be sent to the north from March 23.
“The 600 nurses, already part of the national cadre, will be reassigned to the North, since providing Healthcare in the conflict affected areas has become an urgent priority. An emergency recovery plan for these regions is also being formulated,” de Silva said, at a media briefing to announce the outcome of the United Nations Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) regional ministerial meeting on financing for Health strategies.
“The Norwegian government has just concluded the initial discussion on the type of humanitarian assistance that can be given to boost Healthcare facilities in the North. The US has assisted with pharmaceuticals, while the Swiss agencies have also promised assistance,” he added.
He added that the emergency situation in the North, is not putting an added stress on the provincial Healthcare machinery.
“We have pulled out 800 beds from regional hospitals to satisfy the urgent need for 1000 beds in the North. However, these were idling resources from hospitals where the bed occupancy was about 20%,” de Silva said.
The Minster also responded to issues raised by JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament yesterday. Dissanayake opinioned that the Mobile Hospital set up by Indian doctors in Pulmudai, was a forcible intrusion by India, similar to their earlier efforts to drop dhal into Jaffna.
“The JVP is trying to create issues because they have been wiped out by the people of this country. We have screened the Indian doctors and the Government Medical Council has accepted them. The medicines they have brought are all registered products in Sri Lanka,” Minister de Silva said.
“We have upgraded the Padaviya hospital. The hospitals in Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mannar and Kantalai have also been geared to attend to the needs of the internally displaced persons (IDP) fleeing from the Wanni,” he added. He expressed gratitude to the Indian government for supporting its counterpart in the war against terror and insisted that the assistance was above board.
Heath Ministry official Dr. Sarath Weerawardena said that the Ministry had sent two lorries of Medical supplies to the Padaviya hospital yesterday. “We are closely monitoring the situation of hospitals that have been designated to serve the IDPs, to ensure that they have uninterrupted supplies,” he added.
The Sri Lanka Red Cross Society on Monday handed over six Mobile Health Clinics in the form of converted 40-foot containers, at a total cost of Rs 5.5 million, to the Health Ministry. These units, with AC facilities, will be used to provide Health services to the IDPs in Vavuniya.
The two-day ECOSOC regional ministerial meeting from March 16 to18, with the participation of over 100 delegates from 20 countries, focused on the effect of the current global crisis on Healthcare expenditure. (PW)