When it comes to the state health sector, numbers do not lie, and these numbers reveal the dire situation that the men, women, and children of Sri Lanka are in.
When looking at the requirements for this year (2024), there is a startling shortfall of 630 Consultants across 61 specialities.
According to data the Sunday Times has provided:
- In 2023, the total number of board-certified (certified by the Post-graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) Consultants was – 285 (all categories)
- The number of non-clinical Consultants & Dental Consultants – 50
- Clinical Consultants (medical specialists treating or managing patients in state hospitals – 235
- For 61 specialties, those working currently are – 1,909
- The vacant posts in the 2024 Annual Transfer List – 799
- Board-certified Consultants in 2023 – 236
- New board-certified Consultants available for 2024 Annual Transfer List – 169
- Therefore, the shortfall is – 630 Consultants
The Sunday Times shines a spotlight on the severe shortage of medical specialists in many specialities (See graphic), with experts claiming that there is still no proper plan in place to address this issue. The Sunday Times has repeatedly brought this situation to light.
The city hospitals will continue to operate, with temporary plasters applied here and there, but the periphery is in grave danger, said a senior doctor, noting that the “sufferers” are the country’s impoverished masses.
“It is a double whammy for the people who are also barely managing to survive due to the massive economic blows faced by them from their static or no incomes but skyrocketing prices,” another pointed out.
Others looked at the pathetic plight concerning certain specialities, citing the examples of many fields in paediatrics (child health); anaesthesia; dermatology; ear, nose and throat health (ENT surgeons); endocrinology; ophthalmology (eye); neurology; obstetrics & gynaecology; oncology; different categories of physicians; rheumatologists; and different categories of surgeons.
The mental health sector is badly affected due to a major dearth of psychiatrists, pointed out an expert, adding that radiology (where imaging technology such as X-rays and scans are utilised to diagnose and treat disease) and histopathology (study of diseases of the tissues) are also victims of a shortfall of specialists.
Soruce : Sunday Times
