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The Health Ministry is under heavy pressure to intervene in the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital, which is incurring heavy losses due to poor management.
Authoritative sources say the Sri Jayawardenepura Hospital has recorded a loss of nearly Rs. 827 million last year (2009). The hospital administration obtained a government grant of Rs. 775 million.
Sources say that the hospital earned Rs. 722 million, while the expenditure stood at Rs. 1,549 million with the salaries of the staff, including the consultants amounting to a whopping Rs. 842 million in 2009.
The hospital administration has drawn flak from some quarters, including Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, who added three government nominees (Kiran Atapattu, Mahinda Samarasekera and Dr. Harsha Samaraweera) to the board in an attempt to improve the administration. Minister Sirisena went to the extent of directing Deputy Health Minister Mahinda Amaraweera to probe numerous malpractices. Sources said that Minister Sirisena was now ready to act on the findings made by Deputy Minister Amaraweera.
Some doctors were in the habit of transferring patients they operated on in private hospitals to the Jayewardenepura Hospital for post operative care in its Intensive Care Unit, whose charges were the lowest, sources said.
Sources told The Island that the hospital had owed Rs. 309 million to the Medical Supplies Division last year for the purchase of medicine and equipment. Sources added that the hospital also owed the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS & DB) Rs. 39 million.
The hospital owes Rs. 78 million to freight companies, Rs. 3.6 million to the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Rs. 6.6 million to Wickremaratne and Company Ltd, according to sources.
The Chief Accountant of the hospital has informed the board of management that if not for the revenue from the car park amounting to Rs. 5.5 million, the loss would have been higher.
Hospital Chairman N. W. E. Wijewantha, contacted for comment, said he was not in a position to answer our queries and requested us to make inquiries from the Chief Accountant.