-Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa-
Under the new government’s health policy, which aims to affirm the right of the people of this country to enjoy the optimum benefits of the health service protection system with dignity and honour, the Ministry of Health is currently planning to establish one thousand Primary Health Care Centres across the island in the first phase, under the guidance and direction of the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
These Primary Health Care Centres, which will be established in locations easily accessible and closer to the people, have been named “Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana” (Health & Wellness Centres). Operating under the new government’s innovative programme “HEALTHY SRI LANKA” (Suwapath Ratak Udesa), this project is scheduled to launch one hundred Primary Health Care Centres during this year.
““Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana” project’s second centre opened to the public in Athoya, Ratnapura”
Accordingly, the second Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana of the pilot project was opened to the public yesterday evening (27) at Ethoya in the Ratnapura District, under the patronage of the Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
During the event, the Minister also registered the first service recipient and presented the corresponding card.
Addressing the gathered public, Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa informed them about the services provided by the Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana. He stated that a health team will be introduced to cover a population of between five thousand and ten thousand across four or five Grama Niladhari divisions, and that this population will be entrusted to the care of the centre, emphasizing that, as the name board suggests, this is a Wellness Centre.
He further explained that this concept carries a significant meaning: the centre will focus on early detection of diseases before people develop complications and have to go to a hospital. Specifically, it will focus on the early identification of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.
The Minister added that the local population will be registered and essential preliminary screenings will be conducted. Furthermore, for medical examinations and health treatments that go beyond the scope of the medical officer assigned to the centre, the people will be given a convenient date and time and referred to the nearest secondary or tertiary hospital for further treatment.
He reiterated that this is the second centre of the pilot project, and that a thousand such Wellness Centres will be established across the country.
The Minister stated that an eight-member health staff will be assigned to this Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana, and that even if the public doesn’t think about their own health, the staff will look after it.
He explained that these centres will not only be places for health counselling and dispensing medicine, but will also gradually introduce local and Ayurvedic treatment services in phases. They will also become a place to incorporate things like physical exercise, yoga, and music therapy into one’s life.
Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa further stated that although the concept is excellent, it is a challenging task, and they are strengthening the primary health service system in a different way within the existing framework.
The Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana will provide services to nearly five thousand residents living in the Grama Niladhari divisions of Mudduwa, Ethoya, Mudduwa East, and Pahala Hakamuwa.
The Arogya Suwatha Madhyasthana will not merely be a treatment centre for the rural population of this country, but will offer a multitude of accountable primary health services that take responsibility for the people’s health.
The centre is slated to provide a range of primary health care services, including treatment and counselling for Non-Communicable Diseases, basic surgical treatments, elderly care, rehabilitation care, palliative care, basic eye care, oral health care, mental health care and counselling, nutritional care and counselling, alcohol rehabilitation services and counselling, youth and adolescent care services, selected laboratory tests, and community empowerment.
Each centre will be assigned a health team that includes a family doctor, a community health nurse, and a coordination officer. Furthermore, these centres, which are expected to be developed based on community participation and community organisations, are proposed to establish mechanisms for resolving health issues specific to or emerging from emergency situations in those areas and among the resident population. A key objective of this project is particularly to empower the public regarding health.
The event was attended by Sabaragamuwa Provincial Governor Champa Janaki Rajaratne, Ratnapura District Members of Parliament Shantha Padmakumara and Wasantha Pushpakumara, Sabaragamuwa Provincial Chief Secretary K. D. A. Sunitha, Secretary to the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Ministry of Health Sujeewa Bodhimanna, Provincial Director of Health Services Dr. Kapila Kannangara, Regional Director of Health Services Dr. Anoja Rodrigo, Mayor of Ratnapura Municipal Council Indrajith Katugampala, along with specialist doctors, doctors, nurses, family health service officers, public health inspectors, other health staff, and residents of the area.
