Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne stated that certain doctors were attempting to sabotage the Health Ministry-sanctioned programme of supplying free lenses to patients.
He stated this upon attending the opening ceremony of the Anuradhapura Branch of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation.
He also said that whilst the prices of 48 essential drugs had already been reduced, the prices of more drugs would be reduced in future, and proceeded to remark that the prices of stents used for heart surgeries were also reduced a few days ago.
Healthiness is the greatest profit, not consumption of food, he said.
Today we are using for the people’s benefit the same money of the people that the previous government wasted, Senaratne added, explaining that the preceding government had aimlessly spent a great deal of money to put up pandols and cut-outs.
Speaking on the programme to issue lenses free-of-charge, the Minister explained that the programme ‘Vision 2020’ was implemented by the Health Ministry in order to provide free lenses to patients in need.
Doctors then complained to me that the programme issued lenses of low-quality, and patients made various complaints too, he said.
He proceeded to explain how he had consequently instructed ministry officials to not give low-quality equipment that would be placed inside human bodies.
Don’t deceive; patients should be offered a service with an underlying humanitarian principle,” the Minister had reportedly urged the Ministry employees.
He then added that certain doctors, in an attempt to intentionally sabotage the programme, were stating that there were no lenses available. He explained that the reason for this was that the programme indirectly affected the special privileges accorded to them by pharmaceutical companies.
The reduction of stent prices will have the same effect on these privileges he stated.
Providing statistics, the Minister of Health affirmed that about 150,000 lenses would be required for surgeries in government hospitals by the end of this year.
