The Hon. (Dr.) Sandaruwan Madarasinghe

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, looking at our health service, we have great doubt whether the former rulers who ran this country so long took steps to advance it and align with developed global systems. A large portion of patients rely on state hospitals, while some go to private hospitals or clinics. Some former Ministers and MPs here spent billions to go abroad for treatment. Whatever the avenues, free health care is a foremost duty here, and we must protect it.

¶ 02 According to 2023 data, Sri Lanka has 619 hospitals and 545 primary medical care units. Over 6.3 million inpatients and over 44 million OPD patients are treated annually. Despite this load, successive Governments have allocated roughly the same share of GDP to health, without increasing it proportionally. In 2000 public health spending was 1.65 percent of GDP; in 2018 it was 1.33 percent; in 2023 it was 1.5 percent; in 2022 it was 1.34 percent. That shows how little was invested in people’s health.

¶ 03 Former Governments and Health Ministers proceeded without proper planning. In Tangalle Hospital, Hambantota District, a building was put up after 2006 to house an ICU but is now crumbling; there is still no proper ICU facility. The children’s ward has no staircase despite it being in the plan. This shows the level of attention paid.

¶ 04 Patients, both inpatients and outpatients, face main issues such as long queues. The main reason is staff shortages. From 2020 to 16 August 2023, 293 consultant doctors left service; 67 consultants took no-pay leave and did not report back; a further 1,659 other doctors left service; 40 did not return after foreign training; 108 doctors went abroad without informing the Ministry and did not return; 72 dental surgeons, 41 pharmacists, 74 medical laboratory technologists, 49 physiotherapists, and many other health professionals left. Many migrated due to the lack of regard shown by former rulers. Our Government is working to provide due respect and benefits and invites those specialists and other doctors to return and serve the country now being rebuilt.

¶ 05 We saw how health services collapsed: even a First Lady was pictured operating an X-ray machine; some were seen conducting eye tests—this is how far things had degraded. The scandal of inferior drugs caused great agitation; patients lost trust in prescribed medicines. In court, during the case involving former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, his counsel stated he was suffering from numerous conditions. Yet such a person was entrusted with the health of millions.

¶ 06 The Additional Solicitor General revealed that 2,250 vials of rituximab for cancer patients were counterfeit diluents without the monoclonal antibody—confirmed by the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama—worth Rs. 10 million. There were allegations that, abusing power, lives were endangered and deaths caused. A no-confidence motion was moved here against that Minister. I want to tell the people of my district that during that motion, our district MPs—Amarweera and Ajith Rajapaksa—supported Keheliya Rambukwella. D. V. Chanaka and Namal Rajapaksa too supported him.

¶ 07 We have inherited a broken health system, not a developed one. Our challenge is to make it among the best in the world. In the upcoming Budget we will allocate the highest-ever amount to health. We also plan to recruit about 10,000 health workers who have completed training, to ease staff shortages. A price-control mechanism for medicines has been referred to the Attorney General; we will establish and implement it. Thank you.