The Government has announced measures to improve cancer treatment at Maharagama’s Apeksha Hospital, including attention to medicine shortages, medical equipment, staffing and radiotherapy facilities. The commitments are welcome, but they also raise an uncomfortable question: why must patients facing life-threatening illnesses continue to wait for improvements that should already have been delivered?
Cancer does not wait for a procurement committee, a construction timetable or the completion of an administrative process. For patients receiving treatment at Maharagama’s Apeksha Hospital, the availability of medicines, functioning equipment and appropriately trained medical personnel can determine whether treatment proceeds as planned or is interrupted.
Deputy Health Minister Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni has announced that measures will be taken to strengthen treatment services at the hospital following a special management review involving senior health officials, medical specialists and hospital administrators.
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The discussions covered a substantial range of concerns, including shortages of medicines, staffing requirements, medical equipment, expansion of treatment facilities and the need to improve coordination with the Medical Supplies Division.
The Government has also identified the need for a new master plan for the hospital, with assistance from the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau, to ensure that available land is used effectively.
Plans involving new clinical buildings and a paediatric ward complex were also discussed.
Particular attention was given to radiotherapy services, including the completion of CT Simulator facilities and the construction of bunkers for new Linear Accelerator machines expected under an Asian Development Bank-supported project.
These are important developments. Modern radiotherapy requires sophisticated equipment, specialised staff, reliable maintenance and carefully coordinated treatment schedules.
But the announcement also raises questions about existing capacity.
How many radiotherapy machines are presently operational at Apeksha Hospital? How many are unavailable because of breakdowns, maintenance or other technical difficulties? What is the average waiting period between a clinical decision to begin radiotherapy and the commencement of treatment?
These figures should be publicly available.
A patient diagnosed with cancer should not be required to navigate an opaque administrative system to discover when essential treatment might begin.
There is also the continuing problem of medicine availability.
NEWSLINE has previously examined difficulties surrounding supplies of filgrastim, a medicine used to support patients whose white blood cell counts have been reduced, including as a consequence of chemotherapy.
The wider lesson from that controversy is that medicine procurement cannot be assessed solely by whether a consignment has arrived in Sri Lanka.
A medicine must satisfy regulatory requirements, be released through the appropriate procedures, reach the hospital and ultimately become available to the patient for whom it was prescribed.
A failure at any stage can interrupt treatment.
The Deputy Minister’s emphasis on strengthening coordination with the Medical Supplies Division is therefore particularly relevant. But coordination must produce measurable results, not simply additional meetings between officials.
Staffing presents another challenge.
The Government has acknowledged vacancies involving medical officers, nurses, radiologists, pharmacists and health assistants. These shortages cannot be addressed merely by constructing additional buildings or acquiring sophisticated equipment.
A linear accelerator without adequately trained personnel is not an effective treatment facility. Neither is a hospital pharmacy capable of serving patients when essential medicines are unavailable.
The Government should publish a comprehensive assessment of the hospital’s existing treatment capacity, equipment availability, staffing requirements and waiting lists.
It should also establish realistic completion dates for the proposed improvements and report progress publicly.
Cancer treatment is not an ordinary public service in which administrative delays can always be corrected later. The consequences of interruptions may be serious, and patients should not have to depend on publicity or personal intervention to obtain treatment.
Sri Lanka has invested considerable resources in public healthcare, and Apeksha Hospital remains an essential institution for patients from across the country. Its doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers deserve the equipment, medicines and support necessary to perform their duties effectively.
Be that as it may, the measure of the Government’s commitment to cancer care will not be the number of development plans announced or meetings conducted. It will be whether a patient arriving at Maharagama can receive the prescribed treatment, with the necessary medicines and equipment available, without an avoidable delay.
