Only ophthalmic surgeon attached to Karapitiya hospital leaves country

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Those who seek treatment at the eye ward of the Karapitiya hospital have been greatly inconvenienced due to the migration of the consultant ophthalmic surgeon.

The doctor, who was the only ophthalmic surgeon attached to the ophthalmic surgical unit, has left the country

Chairman of the Professional Forum of Physicians on Medical and Civil Rights, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said that a number of top doctors had left the country and that the Health Ministry should look into the worsening crisis.

Secretary to the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), Dr. Haritha Aluthge, said an MRI machine at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital has broken down.

“The MRI scanner has been out of order for about three months. Doctors are now sending patients to Colombo and Kandy for scanning. People from Jaffna also come to Anuradhapura hospital, and they now have to travel to Colombo and Kandy,” he said.

The President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh, told The Island that the private sector charged approximately Rs. 75,000 per MRI scan.

“The hospital has a contract with the company that sold the MRI and therefore the machine can be fixed. However, those in charge prefer to refer patients to the private sector,” he said.

Kumudesh said that there were long waiting lists as only 11 MRI scanners were functioning at the state-run hospitals in the country.