News
Facilities for infected pregnant women inadequate – SLCOG
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The distribution and availability of high-flow oxygen machines to treat Covid-19 infected pregnant women were not adequate, President of the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (SLCOG,) Dr. Pradeep de Silva said yesterday.
Dr. de Silva said that while they had not yet faced any lack of oxygen in treating Covid-19 infected pregnant mothers, things could change rapidly given the limited availability of equipment. “Having an adequate supply of oxygen alone is not enough. You need high flow oxygen machines, and 50 litres of oxygen per minute is needed to operate a high flow oxygen machine. I do not know how many machines we have in this country but where I work, Castle Street Maternity Hospital has about four. We need to estimate the number of these machines we require and how much oxygen we want. From my understanding, the distribution and availability of high flow oxygen machines to treat Covid-19 infected pregnant mothers is not adequate.”
Dr de Silva said that Sri Lanka needed about 50–200 high-dependency unit (HDU) beds per district, based on the population, 10–50 high flow oxygen machines per district, four for ten ICU beds and two dedicated Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machines.
“If we get this, we will be able to deal with pregnant women who develop complications from COVID-19 for the next four to five years,” he said.
Dr de Silva said that currently one pregnant woman who has been infected with COVID-19 is receiving ECMO treatment. There is also a shortage of beds at the Mulleriyawa Base Hospital, which has the largest ward dedicated to COVID-19 infected pregnant women. On Thursday, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Dr Mayuramana Dewolage, who heads the ward that treats COVID-19 infected pregnant women at the Mulleriyawa Base Hospital, said that they only had 37 beds were dedicated to pregnant women with COVID-19. They didn’t have any HDU or ICU beds dedicated for their use, he said.
“We share HDU and ICU beds with other patients at Mulleriyawa Base Hospital,” Dr Dewolage said.
The President of the SLCOG also urged all hospitals to find a separate space for pregnant women who were receiving treatment at their institutions. When COVID-19 pandemic started, the Health Ministry instructed all hospitals to do so but it was now obvious that those instructions had not been followed, he said.
“When the second wave started people got ready but later, they just stopped getting ready and now we are unprepared to meet the challenges of the third wave. We need to find a way to manage this. If the Ministry of Health has not prepared a plan, we are ready to help formulate one,” the President of the SLCOG said.
NPP Parliamentarian Asoka Ranwala who was appointed the 22nd Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, on 21st November has resigned from his position today [13], in the wake of the controversy surrounding his educational qualifications.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has officially appointed members to the Port City Economic Commission.
Accordingly Harsha Amarasekera, President’s Counsel, has been appointed as the Chairman while Damien Amal Cabraal, Mohan Ray Abeywardena, Sanjaya Kulatunga, and Dr. Harsha Subasinghe were appointed as members of the Port City Economic Commission
The official letters of appointment were handed over to the members by the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (13).
“We will not allow the trust the people have placed in us to be undermined in any way,” stated President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a meeting with the heads of state media today (13).
He further emphasised, “Regardless of their status in government, if mistakes are made, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action.”
The President further explained:
“For more than seven decades, the people of this nation have built and dismantled various governments. For the first time, we stand with a profound understanding of the historic mandate entrusted to us and the National People’s Power on two occasions.
The people placed their faith in the National People’s Power (NPP) government, hoping for a standardised and stable country. We will not tarnish that extraordinary trust, even by the slightest misconduct.
Simply put, our government is not here to shield anyone who errs, for any reason. Be it within the broader framework of the country or within our administration, anyone found guilty of wrongdoing will face consequences. We will not hesitate to act decisively and at the right time. In essence, our government will not shield anyone who makes a mistake, regardless of the reason. Whether the mistake occurs within the country or at any level within our government, we will not hesitate to take decisive action. Every necessary step will be taken at the appropriate time without delay.”
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also reaffirmed his government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the trust placed in them by the people, who have endured decades of deception. He pledged to work tirelessly to build a better nation.
The Minister of Health and Mass Media, Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, Director-General of Government Information, Harsha Bandara, and the heads of state media were present at the meeting.
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