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No clarity on pvt. health workers in the National vaccination drive

09 Feb 2021

  • Contradictory claims about list 

  There appears to be a lack of clarity surrounding the status of the request by private healthcare workers to be included in the Covid-19 vaccine priority list, with the Ministry of Health claiming that it is awaiting a list from the private institutions and the private institutions claiming that a list was provided to the Ministry two weeks ago. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (8), Ministry of Primary Healthcare, Epidemics, and Covid Disease Control Secretary Dr. Amal Harsha De Silva said that private healthcare institutions had been requested to submit their own priority lists for vaccination against Covid-19 for the Ministry to determine the amount of vaccines required and consider their request. “We are considering private sector healthcare workers to be a priority and we have requested private healthcare institutions to send their own priority lists to us.” However, when inquired whether such a request to submit a priority list has been made by the Ministry of Health, Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes (APHNH) President Dr. Lakith Pieris told The Morning yesterday (8) that the private healthcare workers were requested to send in the statistics of the healthcare workers, and not priority lists in the private sector, to the Private Health Services Regulatory Council (PHSRC). “We were requested to send in our statistics and private hospitals have been sending statistics of their staff including the medical staff, clinicians and frontliners. Based on these numbers the Ministry of Health or the vaccination task force will probably have to make the call on who is to be vaccinated first.” Dr. Pieris said that they have not received any communication from the PHSRC regarding vaccination priority. However, he added that frontline workers of the private health sector would probably get priority if such a consideration is to take place. He added that the APHNH hopes the private sector would be treated equally and that they have seen positive responses from the part of the ministry for their request to be given priority in the government’s first vaccination drive. In an appeal to the Government last week, the APHNH requested that private healthcare workers receive priority, alongside national healthcare workers, in the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive. The Association noted that private healthcare workers are not listed under the Government's vaccine prioritisation policy yet, and urged authorities to reconsider this, as the private healthcare sector has played a vital role in Sri Lanka's pandemic response. It claimed that by handling over 50% of out-patient care in the country, the sector ensured that patients continued to receive timely access to treatment, while the country’s public health resources were devoted towards reducing the spread and risk of the virus. “Private healthcare workers are frontline heroes too, and stand the risk of exposure to the virus just as much as national healthcare heroes. Our healthcare workers are an integral part of our pandemic response, and the Government must prioritise them in the current vaccination drive. The Association and the Private Health Services Regulatory Council (PHSRC) are equipped with the information and databases needed to vaccinate private healthcare workers. Over the past few months, our member hospitals and frontline healthcare workers have made a significant contribution to the country's Covid-19 prevention and care efforts. We have collectively increased PCR testing capacities and have set up intermediate care facilities to ease the burden of Covid-19 care from the Government. This is why our staff need to be given priority for vaccination, alongside national healthcare workers,” Dr. Peiris said. Speaking to The Morning, Dr. De Silva said that apart from private sector healthcare workers, medical students and nursing students undergoing their clinicals and prison security forces have also requested priority in being vaccinated against Covid-19.

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