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President to open six-million-rupee hospice in Akuressa
Tuesday, 21 March 2006 - 3:50 AM SL Time
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The Suvasevana Kusuma Wijewantha Memorial Hospice will be opened by President Mahinda Rajapakse on Saurday at Maramba in Akuressa, 150 kilometres away from Colombo.
The aim of this project is to provide medical and health care for the sick, infirm and terminally ill older persons in the low income groups.
The expenditure involved is around Rs. six million. The Hospice, named Suvasevana, was constructed at the site by the Captain Wijewantha Memorial Cultural Foundation in memory of the late Kusuma Wijewantha, mother of the late Captain Anuruddha Parakrama Wijewantha.
The hospice is exclusively dedicated to taking care of destitute elders and treating sick elders suffering from incurable diseases. More than 35 elderly patients can obtain residential treatment at the hospice and more than 100 elderly patients could obtain outdoor treatment daily.
While the Social Service Ministry of the Southern Provincial Council provided an allocation of rupees two million for this project, the Ministry of Social Service and Heath provided invaluable assistance in many ways.
The Island learns that medical assistance including doctors and drugs will be provided by the Ministry of Health of the Southern Provincial Council while the Captain Wijewantha Foundation will provide meals, electricity, water, telephone and other facilities.
Plans are afoot by the Foundation to extend hospice services to other provinces especially for the benefit of the elders.
A large number of social service activities are being implemented by the Foundation that was set up to commemorate the late Captain Anurudha Parakrma Wijewantha who paid the supreme sacrifice on April 4, 1991 at Thoppuwa whilst on operational duties in the Eastern Province.
On the first anniversary of the demise of Captain Wijewantha, his parents, a former director of Social Services and an executive director of HelpAge Sri Lanka, N. W. E. Wijewantha and Mrs. Kusuma Wijewantha, donated their home and property located at Maramba Akuresa to HelpAge Sri Lanka.
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ajan
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21 Mar 2006 15:46:18 GMT Report for Abuse
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| IN THIS PLACE MAHINDA PLANING TO LOCK ALL JVP AND JHU MEMBERS. |
MaKaSo
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21 Mar 2006 15:56:22 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ajan,
I haven't seen anything related to JVP or JHU in this article.
Are they really bothering you? No sleep without sleeping pills ahh? |
magha
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23 May 2006 02:44:38 GMT Report for Abuse
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A very good start. Sri Lanka did not have a proper hospice care system. In fact it should be the government who should have taken an initiative. Terminally ill every body not only people with low income needs help. Terminally ill Cancer patients, stroke victims ,people with dementia and Parkinson's disease suffer a lot without good pain control and are kept alive with spoon feedings or by tube feeding. Elderly or patients with terminal illnesses are never asked by health care professionals in advance what they want to be done at the end of their life. Family members are not been properly advised about prognosis and when to stop treatment and make the patients comfortable nearing death.
Hospice care is a specialized field. The government should start training medical personals for this field. Nurses can be trained to visit homes for in home hospice care. Liquid Morphine is an essential medication to relieve pain and other discomforts in dying patients, which unfortunately not available in Sri Lanka. Maharagama mixture(from cancer hospital) doesn't work very well. |
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