The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 I thank the Hon. Member who moved this timely Adjournment Motion to speak on issues in the health sector. Hon. Minister, a previous speaker said there is a shortage of consultants; that is true. But it is not only consultants—there are shortages of nurses and other lower-level staff. I raised this with you privately: Matale Hospital lacks required nurses and has a serious shortage. Likewise, I have long urged that Laggala Hospital be upgraded to a base hospital due to terrain-related access difficulties to Matale, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Mahiyanganaya and Dambulla. Now it has been upgraded to “B” grade, which will require more doctors: a physician, an obstetrician-gynaecologist, a paediatrician and others. I request you to provide them.

¶ 02 Matale is an agriculture-based district with many CKD patients. Therefore, please complete and operationalize the CKD facility at Hettipola Hospital, which has been stalled.

¶ 03 Please also look at estate hospitals. Many have been closed over time. Even for a minor fever, people now must come to town hospitals, often paying Rs. 2,000–3,000 for a three-wheeler. Please attend to estate hospitals as well.

¶ 04 There is also a shortage of orthopaedic surgical equipment. Please address that. Moreover, according to the Medical Supplies Division, there are shortages of around 300 essential medicines such as insulin, sodium bicarbonate, immunoglobulin, and carboplatin. Please ensure that the innocent patients do not face these shortages further. Specialists say there was inadequate forecasting of drug needs. Without proper forecasting we cannot just run around at the last moment to find supplies. Please fix these gaps.

¶ 05 On pharmaceutical procurement, we know there were big issues. What new procurement measures have you taken? What are you doing to stop the previous rackets? Also, substandard drugs still exist—if not, can you certify today that there are no substandard drugs in the country? There was data tampering and we took strong legal action against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. But what is happening to those who manipulated the data? In the NMRA, due to fraud in the EOI process, even a Secretary went to jail. What measures are you taking now?

¶ 06 I will also raise that more than 20,000 patients are in queues for angiogram tests across the country, not only in Karapitiya. By the time a date arrives, sometimes the patient has died. We must resolve this.

¶ 07 Private hospitals’ surgery charges must be regulated. For example, the price for a caesarean section varies from hospital to hospital. That should not be the case. Please implement new regulations so that procedures cost the same regardless of which private hospital performs them.

¶ 08 On dengue, by the end of January there were 4,943 cases, with 16 high-risk areas identified. With rains, this will worsen. The Dengue Brigade that assists has not yet been regularized; they work for meagre pay. Without them, where will this number go? Please regularize and support them.

¶ 09 On nutrition, a week before the last Parliament was dissolved, a report on child malnutrition was presented and I table it today. On page 23, it says about one in three children under 18—around 37 percent—show some form of malnutrition, largely because inflation has reduced access to good food. Under your Government, what path will ensure these needs are met? In the past, a poor family could manage with coconut sambol and rice, but today coconuts are Rs. 250 and rice over Rs. 200 a kilo. Even salt and rice are hard to afford. I request that a nutrition report be brought to this Parliament twice a year and that priority be given to programmes for malnourished children.

¶ 10 People have real problems: nutrition, health, education. Solve them. Thank you for the opportunity.