The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayathissa

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, the key challenge is the surge in outpatient numbers. Although our population is 22 million, around 60 million outpatient visits occur annually in State hospitals; roughly half of all patients come to State facilities—about 120 million OPD encounters annually, assuming multiple visits per person. Increasing hospital buildings alone does not solve this.

¶ 02 Since about 2018, with World Bank and ADB support, several projects for primary healthcare strengthening have been implemented, but a lasting solution remains. Globally, science and practice show the solution is to build adequately staffed and equipped primary care units within approximately a 2.5 km radius of residents, enabling screening and treatment close to home. Accordingly, the Ministry’s top priority is reforming primary healthcare. We will launch a pilot this year in two districts and then scale to others. A challenge is training the necessary medical officers and staff. In structuring primary care and specialist services, family medicine specialists and community health specialists are very important. Our aim is appropriate, evidence-based deployment. We have commenced this work, though optimal placements are still being organized, to ensure people can conveniently access screening and treatment.