The shortage of medicines and other essential medical equipment, and also doctors leaving the country in scores, were the most obvious impacts of the recent economic crisis on the health sector. Despite the Government’s vows to remedy these issues, the situation appears to have taken a turn for the worse. The people are now stuck in a situation where they fear to obtain treatments from public hospitals and are too poor to seek treatments from the private health sector. Until recently, the public health sector was viewed as the public’s saviour, as it should be as a sector that depends on tax-paying citizens.

However, in a context where the people are literally dying and are facing serious health issues after obtaining treatments from public hospitals, the people have started questioning as to what extent they could rely on the public health sector.These concerns arose with several recent incidents where the patients faced serious health complications, including death. Not too long ago, a number of people experienced health complications after obtaining treatments for eye related issues, and some people claimed that they faced severe allergies after obtaining treatments for digestive system related health issues. Just several days ago, a woman who obtained treatment from the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital for an abdominal ache and at least four new born babies who were at the Kilinochchi District General Hospital died under highly questionable circumstances. Alarmingly, all these were reported from public hospitals.

However, the court of public opinion is of the view that the hospital authorities and/or the Health Ministry controlled by the Government are to blame for these health complications and deaths. People who had no major, visible complicated health issues were dying after medical treatment for minor health issues, is an alarming situation. While probes are launched into these incidents, can one specific party be held accountable is a question we need to ask ourselves, because the procurement, storage, transportation and usage of medicines is an extremely complex process, which involves multiple parties and various forms of quality checks. However, as a country, we should realise that panicking is not the ideal response, although it is the immediate natural reaction, being vigilant and responsible is what could help deal with this situation until the authorities find out the specific cause/s of this spate of health complications and deaths.

The concerns pertaining to the public health sector are diverse. While some say that the fault is on the part of the Health Ministry or the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) for allegedly not conducting quality checks properly, many appear to think that the administration of the respective hospitals have not done their job properly. However, those who make these allegations do not seem to see the bigger picture. They do not talk about the responsibilities of the patients, especially when it comes to revealing their health conditions such as allergies – one which they are aware of, can play a considerable role in how patients respond to medicines. At the same time, the procurement, storage, transportation and usage of medicines is a process that involves a number of parties, who are yet to be investigated in this regard. If the fault is on the part of the quality checking authorities, strict actions, including legal and policy reforms as long term measures, need to be taken. If the hospital administrations are in the wrong, rigourous steps need to be taken, while looking into rarely heard but attention worthy aspects such as the Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has appointed a seven-member experts’ committee – which includes Medical Research Institute (MRI) Director Dr. Dedunu Dias as the head, and Prof. Chandima Jeewandara, Prof. Priyadarshani Galappaththi, Dr. Senitha Liyanage, Prof. Nithushi Samaranayake, Prof. S.S.P Warnakulasuriya, and Dr. Philip H. Li as members – to investigate the abovementioned incidents. However, despite actions, improper communication has been one of the main issues. The Minister’s response in this regard has been vague, which is more than capable of worsening the public’s fears, because unfortunately, Government led investigations are no longer the mechanisms that the people trust in. Therefore, the activities of these committees need to be conducted in a more transparent manner. The public has a right to know.

Sri Lanka is a country with universal free healthcare and has achieved a notable place thus far, with internationally accepted health indices concerned. If the Government continues to maintain its usual lackadaisical response with no promising plans, this situation could even escalate to national level opposition. All that the Government and the authorities need to do is doing their job properly as parties answerable to the public.