brand logo

Home treatment only a last resort: Health Ministry

24 May 2021

  • Will be implemented if and when hospital beds run out

  • Says it’s a long process, not easy

  • Necessary guidelines not drafted yet

By Buddhika Samaraweera    The treatment of Covid-19 patients will be carried out at homes only if there is no other option, and the aim of the health authorities is to refer patients to hospitals or intermediate treatment centres as much as possible, according to the Ministry of Health. “At present, we are trying to refer every patient to a hospital or treatment centre as much as possible. In addition, efforts are being made to increase the capacity of hospitals and treatment centres to the fullest extent possible,” Deputy Director General of Public Health Services and Health Ministry Disaster Preparedness and Response Division Head Dr. Hemantha Herath said, speaking to The Morning yesterday (23). However, he noted that with the rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 patients around the country, there is a potential for them to be treated at home, as the capacity of hospitals and other treatment centres may be exceeded in the future and therefore the health authorities must be prepared for such an eventuality. We also learnt that the guidelines required to be issued by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) to officially commence home treatment have not been issued yet. Dr. Herath said that providing home treatment for the Covid-19-infected may not be 100% successful and that it is not an easy task, adding that therefore it cannot be implemented without a systematic programme. “Some patients in different areas are currently being treated at their homes, as they prefer not to go to the hospital. But they are being observed in the same way as a patient in a hospital,” he said. However, National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva last Monday (17) said the President directed the DGHS to compile a criterion for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients to be treated at home and that this criteria would be issued by that weekend (22 or 23 May). Gen. Silva added that there are three methods: Patients with severe illness will be treated at hospitals, non-critical patients at intermediate care centres, and asymptomatic patients will be allowed to remain at home under medical advice. However, the decision whether or not to remain at home will be taken by doctors, he added. State Minister of Primary Healthcare, Epidemics, and Covid Disease Control Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, on 15 May, said that steps were being taken to allow home treatment for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients from 17 May. Dr. Fernandopulle said if patients begin to develop symptoms and complications while under home treatment, they will be transferred to a hospital or a treatment centre. However, the Ministry of Health last Monday stated that it had decided to provide Covid-19 patients with necessary treatment at the nearest treatment and intermediate centres. However, we reported last Monday that the guidelines required to be issued by the DGHS to implement such a plan had not been issued as at that point.


More News..