Kandy General Hospital :

The all-in-one centre for the entire province

by Carl Muller

Dr. M. P. Gamini Samarasinghe is the Director of the General Hospital (Teaching) Kandy. He has to ramrod one of the finest institutions in the island, serving patients from every district and with all medical units under one roof. This makes the hospital unique. He has a total staff of upto 4,500. There are 840 doctors including 70 medical consultants. He is a young man, or shall I say a seasoned young man, full of get-up-and-go and ready to combat any force that seeks to destroy or upset the good running of this vast servicing centre for the sick and the diseased.

Dr. Gamini began his medical career as a dental surgeon, but also obtained his honours in Medical Administration at Harvard. This led him to take charge of the Kegalle Hospital as Administrative Director during the hurly-burly times of a hell-bound JVP, during which many in the medical profession were reluctant to perform because of threats to their lives. When the political climate cooled, he was the obvious choice for Kandy. His administrative duties in Kegalle were exceptional and were as a sounding board to the Ministry of Health that wished to exploit his potential in the best way possible.

Even the Health Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. Musharaf Husein, who visited the Kandy Hospital with a team of foreign Health Ministers, highly commended the administrative know-how and was much impressed by all he saw and learnt of.

The Kandy Hospital in an all-in-one institution.

Standing in the off-centre of 56 acres of land, Gamini tells me that the encroachment of squatters has taken up 25 acres. Much had been done, or said to have been done, to get rid of what still is an obvious menace to health, but the squatters refuse to move. That the land they occupy is hospital, property matters little to them. There are also various attempts to conduct small businesses within the hospital premises. Dr. Gamini has had to put his foot down, give a firm “no” and tell of the massive overcrowding as it is. He is not afraid of losing political popularity.

As he says, to become a “yes man” will be to keep saying “yes, yes” all the time to the detriment of good and necessary administration. But there are times when he can’t understand the crass stupidity of outside forces. Bus-halts on the William Gopallawa Road were situated to block the gates of the hospital. “I had to make protest and ask that officials see sense.” Bills received for water and electricity are at commercial rates and telephone usage is also not at the normal charge. Surely, the authorities should see that this is not a private business concern but a State hospital! This is a massive all-in-one establishment. The Cancer wards for males and females are a close second to the Maharagama Cancer Hospital. A very large Eye Centre brings in patients from all over the island. While Castle Street Borella has a separate maternity hospital, Kandy has three maternity wards.

While there is a special Paediatric Hospital in Colombo, Kandy offers two Paediatric units and two paediatric surgical units, neonatal units including ICUs. The Kandy Hospital has evolved into a vast complex of hospitals! There are also the Services wards for the Army and the Police, and yet, administration has to counter much that it can well do without. Dr. Gamini gave me figures that could be pretty outstanding. First visits by patients both male and female per day stands at 24,140. Outpatients number 30,920 and all clinics being in 68,777. Now this is something that needs so much space as can be provided, but what chance of real expansion is there to meet the needs of so many as along as so much hospital land is occupied by squatters?

Let me briefly list the units that serve every category: Orthopaedic, ENT, Gynaecology, Medical casualty, Surgical and Casualty, Gastrointestinal, Dental and Plastic Surgery, Rheumatology, Cancer Surgery, Skin Psychiatrics, Tuberculosis, Neurology, Urology, Neurosurgery, Haematology, Ophthalmology, Neprhology, Cardiology, Cardiothoracis operations, Dialysis treatment, ICUs, Emergency treatment, intensive coronary care, sick baby unit - there are 22 operating theatres with a new complex of eight more now being completed.

There are two Thalassaemia units and the hospital is affiliated to the Nurses Training School with 2000 student nurses also learning the ropes.

Dr. Gamini has to stay on top of it all, and with the assistance, expertise and enthusiasm of his specialists, consultants and staff, is doing all he can, but he has many situations to shoulder. Vehicles and ambulance need repair. Usually he has to call on one of the listed garages that neither respond or move quickly enough. Wouldn’t it be good if the hospital has its own garage situated a short distance away? As he says, much needs to be done and I wonder where he will harness the huge flow of energy to carry out all he wishes to do. His attitude, sympathy and empathy has endeared him to may but, as he says, he will need a thousand eyes to survey it all for this is not one hospital but many.

So much still needs to be done and it all means money by the millions. For instance, renovations to some old wards alone will cost Rs. 8,356,436! There are roofs to be repaired, toilet renovations, the construction of a medical complex to include accident service renovations to the Diabetics clinic and OPD lab - oh, so much more.

Yes, he may be transferred, but I wonder whether Kandy will get a replacement of equal status, professionally and meaningfully dedicated to work as Dr. Gamini is.

It will be, of course, to the immense benefit of the hospital he will go to, but Kandy will lose a man who has devoted himself to the whirlwinds of duty and to millions of patients.