Sri Lanka has a free and universal health care system. It scores higher than the regional average in healthcare having a high

Life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...

and a lower maternal and infant death rate than its neighbors. It is known for having one of the world's earliest known healthcare systems and has its own indigenous medicine system.

History

Sri Lankan medical traditions records back to pre historic era. Besides a number of medical discoveries that are only now being acknowledged by western medicine, according to the Mahawansa, the ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty King Pandukabhaya had lying-in-homes and hospitals (Sivikasotthi-Sala) built in various parts of the country after having fortified his capital at Anuradhapura in the 4th century BCE. Ruins of a hospital in Mihintale which was built by King Sena II (851-885 A.C.) that dates back to the 9th century has been discovered and it is considered one of the world's oldest hospitals. Several Sinhalese kings in ancient Sri Lanka are known to be practitioners of medicine, King Buddhadasa (340–368 AC) was said to be adept in general medicine, surgery, midwifery and veterinary medicine and he is known for the surgical operation on an outcaste (Chandala) woman in order to deliver her child and the surgical removal of a lump in the belly of a snake. "Sarartha Sangraha", a comprehensive medical treatise in Sanskrit, is also attributed to King Buddhadasa. Buddhadasa also built a healthcare system with one hospital for ten villages which would be funded by a tax on the revenue from fields of the villages. Medical men were appointed to attend troops and veterinary surgeons to attend cattle and elephants. King Aggabodhi VII (766–772 A.C.) is known for his medical research and according to the Culavamsa, the king "studied the medicinal plants over the entire island of Lanka to ascertain whether they were wholesome or harmful to the sick." Excavations of the ruins of Ancient hospitals have uncovered several surgical instruments like Forceps, Scalpels and Scissors as well as spoons that are believed to be used to mix or administer medicine. The hospitals in ancient Sri Lanka had toilets and baths that were attached to the living quarters. The hospitals had been designed for ventilation and free circulation of air due to two open courts in addition to the windows which indicates that psychological aspects of therapeutics were understood by Medical practitioners.

Overview

Sri Lanka has a

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

system that extends free healthcare to all citizens, which has been a national priority. OPD facilities are readily available in public (general) hospitals situated in major towns and cities, with laboratory and radiology facilities common in most. But most illnesses can be treated in teaching hospitals in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, Colombo South, Colombo North,

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

( Karapitiya Hospital),

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

and

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

. All doctors and nurses in the government hospitals are qualified and trained, with some of the most experienced staff working at the teaching hospitals. For emergencies, especially accidents, it is highly recommended to go directly to general hospital accident services as they are equipped with the staff and facilities to handle emergencies. Despite low levels of health expenditures, Sri Lanka's health indicators are comparable to more developed countries in the region. The public healthcare system also has long waiting lists for specialized care and advanced procedures. As a result, reliance on private care is increased.

Recognized councils

Sri Lankan traditional medicine Sri Lanka has its own indigenous scheme of traditional medicine which is called "Hela wedakama" (apart from Ayurveda). This system has been practised for thousands of years in the island nation. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan āyurvedic trad ...

** (Western) medicine * Sri Lanka Ayuruvedic Council ** Traditional Sinhala medicine ** Ayouruveda ** Siddha ** Unani * Sri Lanka Homeopathy Council **Homeopathy

Hospitals

Western Medical Hospitals

There are 555 government hospitals in Sri Lanka, in addition to several other government hospitals treating according to the ''Ayurvedic System''. A large number of

private hospital A private hospital is a hospital not owned by the government, including for-profits and non-profits. Funding is by patients themselves ("self-pay"), by insurers, or by foreign embassies. Private hospitals are commonly part, albeit in varying deg ...

s have appeared in Sri Lanka, due to the rising income of people and demand for private healthcare services. They provide much more luxurious service than government hospitals, but they are mostly limited to

and its suburbs and also have high prices. Some of the best known private hospitals are

Nawaloka Hospital Nawaloka Hospital traded as Nawaloka Hospitals PLC, was established in 1985 by Deshamanya H. K. Dharmadasa. Nawaloka Hospital is one of Sri Lanka's largest private hospitals and has created a chain of hospitals across the country. It was founded b ...

, Asiri Hospital,

Hemas Hospital Hemas Hospitals is a Sri Lankan chain of hospitals based in Wattala. It expanded its developments in Thalawathugoda area in 2013 making it one of the largest ever known tertiary hospital chains in Sri Lanka. Hemas Hospitals also operates the lar ...

Lanka Hospitals Lanka Hospital (formerly Apollo Hospital Sri Lanka) is multi-speciality tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka and is one of the largest private hospitals in the country. It is a subsidiary of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. The company's previous ...

and the Durdans Hospitals. In Colombo, many of the private hospitals are located in Narahenpita area; namely, Asiri, Asiri Surgical, Oasis, Ninewells, etc. In addition to Colombo, many leading cities such as

Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Province ...

also have private hospitals. As of 2014 the public sector accounted for 73% of the hospitals and 93% of the available bed capacity in Sri Lanka, while handling over 90% of the total patient admissions and outpatient visits to hospitals. In the private sector, the top five players the Dr Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH), Asiri, Nawaloka Hospitals PLC (Nawaloka), Durdans Hospitals (Durdans) and The Lanka Hospitals – accounted for nearly 45% of the private-sector bed capacity, with NFTH the market leader with 1,002 beds.

Other hospitals

Medical schools

(Western) medicine

Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the second oldest medical school in South Asia.It is considered to be the top most medical faculty in the country which requir ...

(formerly the

Ceylon Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

) ** Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo * Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya * Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna * Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenapura * Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya (formerly the

North Colombo Medical College North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) was the first privately funded medical school in Sri Lanka. It started in 1980 with the admission of 100 local and 20 foreign students. The first batch of students began graduating in 1990. Founded by the Co ...

) * Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna * Faculty of Medicine, Rajarata University * Faculty of Healthcare and Sciences, Eastern University * Faculty of Medicine, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University * Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

Other

Sinhala traditional medicine

No formal system exist for traditional Sinhala medical education.

Other systems of traditional medicine

1 Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo 2 Gampaha Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute, University of Kelaniya 3

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

Professional associations

* Sri Lanka Medical Association * College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka *

Government Medical Officers Association The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) is a trade union in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1926 as the Government Medical Officers’ Association (Central Province) in Kandy, it was renamed as Government Medical Officers’ Association of Cey ...

* Government Medical Officers Forum

Eye donation

Sri Lanka is one of the biggest donors of human eyes to the world, with a supply of approximately 3,000 corneas per year.

References

External links

WHO: Sri Lanka

WHO , Sri Lanka Health Profile
{{Asia topic, Health in