The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) indicates that Sri Lanka’s inflation rate had eased to 25.2 percent in May from 35.3 percent in April, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said on Wednesday.

This reduction in inflation provides some relief to the crisis-hit economy, which has been severely impacted by a foreign exchange crisis, leading to the worst financial crisis the country has faced in seven decades, said the PMD citing data from the Census and Statistics Department.

There is a decrease in food inflation, which stood at 21.5 percent in May compared to 30.6 percent in April, the PMD said.

Sri Lanka’s central bank said in April that the anticipated declining trend of inflation was expected to continue through 2023, bringing down the prevailing high inflation towards single-digit levels by late 2023.

By Shiran Ranasinghe

Work in most hospitals have been severely affected by the migration of over 375 specialist doctors and thousands of healthcare staff, and drug shortages, doctors claim.About 50 per cent of doctors who are abroad to receive higher medical training to become specialists have informed that they have no intention of returning to the country.

So far, the hospitals in Kilinochchi, Anuradhapura, Tangalle, Hambantota, Mullaitivu and Dehiattakandiya are the worst affected and many clinics and other facilities provided by these hospitals have come to a standstill.

Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) media spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that some hospitals would have to be closed down. About 1000-1500 doctors had left the country and no one had any idea about the number of nurses and other health staff who have left the country, he said

“This is a sad state of affairs and there are several reasons why health staff are leaving the country. One is the high taxes and another is the political and economic instability. They are also stressed out because they can’t treat patients due to medical shortages. Most of the doctors spend their day calling people and cajoling philanthropists to help them secure medicine for their hospitals,” he said.

Meanwhile, one of the two catheterisation machines of the Kandy hospital has broken down, placing the lives of some of the 8024 patients who are in the waiting list in jeopardy.

Head of the government radiologist union, Chanaka Dharmaratne said those machines were vital to treat heart patients. “One machine at the Kandy General Hospital is out of order while the other needs immediate servicing. These are important and expensive pieces of equipment that are vital in treating and identifying heart ailments,” he said.

A private hospital will charge about 100,000 rupees for the use of catheterisation machines and about one million rupees to introduce a stent, he said.Dharmaratne said that there are many drug and equipment shortages in the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children too.

Gampaha General Hospital Director, Dr. Himali Wijegunasekera said that they rely heavily on philanthropists to deal with the severe drug shortage in hospitals. She added that frequently needed drugs to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes are in short supply as well. Doctors at the hospital had given a list of drugs that are in short supply to the hospital development authority to circulate among philanthropists.

 said they were planning to set up five paying wards at the hospital. There were about 2,400 medical specialists in the country. 285 were to retire soon after turning 65 and around 375 had left the country in the past 12 months, she said said.

Dr. Harsha Cabral, Chairman of the National Savings Bank, formally presented the bank’s annual report for the year 2022 to Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (01).

The report, titled “Strengthening Our Strength,” provides an integrated overview of the bank’s performance within the economic framework and its engagements with the social and environmental sectors.