Respiratory units in all State hospitals soon - Health Ministry

by Carol Aloysius

Respiratory Units will be set up in all state hospitals soon, a health ministry official told the Sunday Observer. “Respiratory diseases are becoming increasingly common today and Children are at high risk.

Fifteen percent of children in Sri Lanka suffer from asthma because they inhale polluted air.

Inhaled tobacco smoke can cause long term damage to children’s health”, President, Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists, Dr Saman Kularatne told the Sunday Observer. Habitual smokers could develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease if they continue to smoke, he said.

“The Respiratory Units will examine and treat patients with respiratory problems and be equipped with sophisticated instruments to assess lung function and examine lungs for fluid collections and diagnose various infections and lung cancer”, he said.

“At present only a few state hospitals have these instruments. The Ministry hopes to make them available at leading state hospitals as this is an urgent need”, he said.

Around 25 such units have already been set up across the country and more units are being set up for patients with respiratory diseases. “The units will be manned by Respiratory physicians in Kandy, Colombo and Welisara. The Post Graduate Institute of Medicine of the Colombo University is conducting a diploma course on Tuberculosis Control and Respiratory Diseases and 40 doctors are undergoing training. A national data base on respiratory diseases is also on the cards”, he said.

Recent surveys have revealed that mortality rates especially for asthma in Sri Lanka are 20-50 percent higher compared to developed countries.