Authorities are struggling to supply stranded hospital staff with food even as medical supplies reach facilities, Disaster Preparedness and Response Division National Coordinator Dr. Samiddhi Samarakoon said yesterday (29).
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Dr. Samarakoon said that although camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had received medicines and essential medical supplies through Regional Directors of Health Services (RDHS) in affected areas, a number of hospitals, medical staff, patients, and civilians in surrounding communities remained trapped and unable to reach safe locations.
One such institution, she noted, was the Chilaw District General Hospital (DGH), where, in addition to patients and staff, several residents seeking shelter had also been stranded.
An appeal has been made for residents in nearby areas to support the provision of food to those trapped, while several religious organisations have stepped in to prepare meals for the hospital.
At the Karawanella Base Hospital, around 70 people were reported stranded inside two hospital buses, with no available drivers to transport them to safety.
Dr. Samarakoon added that although Rs. 500,000 had been allocated to RDHS offices in affected districts, banking disruptions and weakened money transfer services were hindering the release of funds.
“Most hospital staff have been on duty for almost three days wearing the same clothes,” she said.
Efforts to reach certain locations have also been obstructed. Naval boats cannot access areas that are only partially flooded, while Air Force evacuation operations are limited by resource constraints.
Instructions, she said, had been issued to divisional coordinators to ensure the supply of fuel for generators and oxygen cylinders, which are critical for operating theatres.
She also warned that an approaching concern was the developing situation in parts of Colombo.
Meanwhile, health authorities reported that the Mahiyangana Base Hospital had been severely affected, prompting the discharge of all patients who could safely return home. Others were transferred to hospitals in Bibila and Monaragala.
The Mahiyangana Base Hospital is currently facing electricity and water shortages, while both the theatres and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have been flooded.
An accident and emergency ‘dead space’ has been set up to receive emergency patients before transfer to other hospitals. At present, the hospital can only accommodate OPD patients, all of whom must be referred onward due to the facility’s compromised condition.
Health sector sources further raised grave concerns about the situation at the Chilaw DGH, where the lives of four premature infants – between 24 and 26 weeks – currently depend on incubators powered by generators. Any disruption to generator power, they warned, would place the infants at immediate risk. Measures may be required to shift them while maintaining incubator support.
Ministry of Health Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe has urged the public, healthcare staff, and all relevant institutions to seek services and essential guidance from the Disaster Preparedness and Response Division to meet all health sector requirements.
He noted that the centre had also introduced a 24-hour emergency hotline, 1926, enabling the public, medical personnel, and institutions to obtain health-related information whenever required.