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National Hospital operations hit by shortages

28 Sep 2022

  • Sources note significant shortage of antibiotics
  • Machine malfunctions hamper operations and test
  • Heart, lung operations delayed due to suture shortages  
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Given the prevailing shortage of pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment, a number of surgeries and medical examinations carried out at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) in Colombo have been affected, while there is also a significant shortage of antibiotics given to patients, The Morning learnt. Speaking to The Morning, NHSL sources said that three out of the five computerised tomography (CT) scan machines at the Hospital’s Accident Ward and Neurosurgery Unit have not been functioning properly for more than three weeks. Due to this, there is a severe congestion in providing services to the patients who come to the hospital to undergo CT scans. While people even from distant areas arrive at the NHSL to undergo these tests, according to sources, there are currently only two machines that can be used to perform CT scans. The same sources stated that although nearly 30 Oesophago-Gastro-Duodenoscopy (OGD) tests (a camera test where the doctor looks at the upper parts of the digestive system or the upper gastrointestinal tract in order to detect certain diseases related to the digestive system) were carried out on a daily basis previously, the number of daily tests has now decreased to five.  Patients at all the surgical wards in the NHSL are currently undergoing these tests at only one location, so the patients admitted to the hospital have to spend several days in the hospital, or go back home to await the chance to conduct the test. The reason for this situation is that two of the three machines used for the tests are not functioning properly and because it has become difficult to procure the necessary spare parts to repair them. Moreover, due to the shortage of fine suture material and valves required for the NHSL Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit, the number of surgeries performed there has decreased to three per day, sources said. A very fine type of suture is required to sew up the wounds of patients who are undergoing surgeries at this unit, and it has become difficult to procure them due to the shortage of available drugs and medical equipment. As a result, the performance of heart and lung operations of patients who are on the waiting list to undergo these operations is delayed. The sources also said that due to the shortage of the material required, the laparoscopic surgeries (a type of surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen and pelvis without having to make large incisions in the skin) at the NHSL are not being carried out at present. Given the non-performance of the surgeries, the sources said that the patients have to experience large incisions and that this forces them to stay at the hospital for several days. The Morning further learnt that the NHSL is currently seeing shortages of several antibiotic drugs that are particularly needed for patients with wounds and those who have undergone surgeries. The antibiotics that are in short supply include: Metronidazole, Ciprofloxacin, Merrem IV/meropenem, Primaxin/imipenem/cilastatin, and Colistin. Given the prevailing shortage of foreign exchange reserves in the country, the value of the Sri Lankan rupee has fallen significantly compared to the US dollar. Due to this, alongside difficulties in issuing letters of credit for the import of medicines and other medical supplies faced by the concerned parties, a shortage of certain medicines and medical supplies has emerged in the country, while the prices of the same have increased rapidly in the last few months. Also, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella admitted in Parliament last week that there is a shortage of 91 out of 383 essential drugs, and that 14 life-saving drugs are not available in the main warehouse of the Medical Supplies Division of the Health Ministry.


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