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Emergency medical services funding: Suwa Seriya operations at risk

07 May 2022

 
  • Funds received for April amount to only 25% of requirement
  • Funds needed for fuel and critical meds needed for operations
  • Dr. Harsha de Silva urges Govt. to provide adequate funding
  By Asiri Fernando A shortage of funds is threatening to impact the operations of the 1990 Suwa Seriya 24-hour emergency medical ambulance service, The Sunday Morning learns. Responding to a query, Suwa Seriya Foundation President Dumindra Ratnayaka told The Sunday Morning that the lifesaving ambulance service had been receiving fewer funds to manage the daily operations of its 300-strong fleet of ambulances, which respond to over 1,000 emergency callouts each day across the island. Ratnayaka estimated that the Suwa Seriya Foundation needed a monthly operational budget of more than Rs. 115 million to service its vehicle fleet based on the inflation recorded as of last week (7). Early last year, the average monthly operational budget had been approximately Rs. 85 million.   “The operational costs cover the fuel and medicines we need to respond to emergency callouts by the public. It does not include overheads like salaries, repairs, training, and insurance,” he explained. Ratnayaka said that the funds made available to them by the Ministry of Health had declined over the last few months with only 25% of the required monthly operational budget received last month (April). “We are trying our best to keep the operations going smoothly. We do not want to answer an emergency call and have to say we can’t respond,” he added. Last week, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva raised the matter in Parliament, pleading with the Government to provide the necessary funding to the operation, which saves lives on a daily basis. “I made a personal appeal to the Minister of Finance in the House and subsequently to the Minister of Health to keep the 1990 Suwa Seriya service operational. As the Founder of the service, I was distraught to find out the service may have to be temporarily discontinued due to lack of funds which ought to have been provided as per the 1990 Suwa Seriya Act No. 18 of 2018. I am happy that both Ministers immediately spoke with me and the State Minister of Health visited the command and control centre and discussed the requirements in detail. Upon subsequent discussions with them I am relieved to understand emergency funds will be allocated,” Dr. de Silva told The Sunday Morning. He stressed that funding for such lifesaving medical services should be an absolute priority and the Government must understand it is its responsibility to ensure the continuation of this service with no interruption. The Suwa Seriya Foundation was established in 2016 following a grant from the Government of India. Today, 1990 Suwa Seriya operates nearly 300 ambulances with over 1,400 staff members that service every district in Sri Lanka.   


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