A state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama is operating well below capacity due to a shortage of doctors.
It is reported that the ICU, established during the COVID-19 pandemic and fitted with advanced medical equipment worth over Rs. 100 million, remains largely idle.
While the unit is equipped to treat four patients simultaneously with four beds, three mechanical ventilators, and a scanning machine, the lack of medical staff has rendered much of the equipment unused.
Hospital employees say the unit’s underutilisation is putting patients’ lives at risk and wasting valuable public health resources.
A single ventilator is valued at over Rs. 20 million, while each ICU bed is estimated to cost around Rs. 1.5 million. Staff point out that while support personnel are available, the absence of doctors is the primary reason for the ICU’s limited operations.
Only five doctors are currently assigned to the hospital’s planning division and two to the IT unit.
The hospital’s Director, Consultant Oncologist Dr. Aruna Jayasekara, denied that the unit has been fully closed. He said that while admissions for critically ill patients have been temporarily halted due to doctor shortages, the ICU is still being used to treat patients in moderate condition.
Dr. Jayasekara stressed that the decision was taken purely out of necessity and expressed hope that services could be expanded once sufficient medical personnel are made available.
Leave a comment