Efforts made to restore health sector – Minister
Health Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said that the government with the support of various multilateral agencies is currently making a huge effort to improve country’s health sector.
A special press conference was held yesterday (23) in the Health Ministry auditorium to inform the media about the current situation in the health sector and progress achieved so far.
Minister Pathirana also said that the issue of medical supplies and medicines in Sri Lanka is one of its main issues and emergency purchases had to be made due to the special circumstances in Sri Lanka, but due to some of the problems that have arisen, emergency purchases have now been stopped. It was requested that the main attention has been paid to take the necessary measures to carry out the procurement of medical supplies in a more realistic and transparent manner, and it will take sometime for that to be done.
The Government as well as multilateral institutions working for the improvement of health services, the World Health Organization, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have expressed their willingness to help us. A new chairman has been appointed for the Medical Supply Division as well as the Drug Regulatory Authority. He is working to restore its affairs. We have requested the Government to provide necessary support to improve not only the Drug Regulatory Authority but also the drug quality testing laboratory, which has been a major problem in the country for a long time. The President mentioned in the budget speech that the financial allocations have been allocated for that.
According to that, it is stated that efforts are being made to improve the laboratory of the Drug Regulatory Authority, to increase the capacity, and to prepare the necessary background to carry out more accurate drug testing. Also, in the past, I had the opportunity to discuss with many trade unions representing various professions related to health care. There are many economic problems as well as professional problems that they face. Under the existing conditions, we have worked through the budget to provide economic benefits to the people as much as possible and we as the Ministry of Health are doing our best to solve the professional problems of all the health staff. We expect everyone to work together for the improvement of the health service and provide its benefits to the people. “Every Government in this country has done a great service for the advancement of free healthcare. One thing that the World Health Organization always mentions is that there is an excellent health service in this country that provides more productivity at a lower cost. It is our responsibility to strengthen and take it higher. Sri Lanka has progressed in many matters including maternal mortality, infant mortality, vaccination programme. Good indicators have been obtained. There are many problems that will affect this country in the future, among which prevention of non-drinking diseases and accidents is a major issue. The country loses 12,000 lives a year due to accidents. 35 lives are lost every day. In this regard, we hope to pay special attention to work with multilateral institutions and do the necessary work to increase the safety of people’s lives. By focusing on improving and protecting the primary health system in this country, and improving the quality, we hope to provide the results to all the people, protect the quality of the tertiary services and create the necessary background to carry out the work of the hospitals with general hospitals and teaching hospitals in a more formal manner.
The appointment of Dr. Palitha Maheepala as Health Secretary is special. Before assuming this position, he worked in the position of Permanent Representative of the Government of Pakistan to the World Health Organization. At a time when there is a brain drain, he has left a job with great intention and recognition for the sake of health development in this country. I believe that with his expert knowledge, who has worked as a Health Services DG in Sri Lanka, we can work with all groups in the health service for the future improvement, stability and promotion of the health service in Sri Lanka.
Responding to a question raised by journalists regarding the change of officials, the Health Minister said officials cannot be changed at will, many institutions are involved in politics, and political representatives or the Cabinet cannot change officials. He also said that there are certain methods including providing transfers. He also said that some time is needed for that and the officers who have been in one post for a long time have been requested to transfer to other places. He also said that if mistakes have been made, necessary actions will be taken through a disciplinary investigation process through the institution.
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