In a bid to cover losses, Kotelawala Defence University (UHKDU) Hospital has recently started charging Rs. 350 per day from family and friends who stay beside the patients.
Confirming the claim, the UHKDU Director – Medical Supplies Brig. Dr. Saman Thilakarathne said the hospital management recently decided to introduce the new payment system to cover maintenance costs due to the facility’s present financial difficulties.
This news comes at a time when talks about a 25–30% payment programme in selected government hospitals are underway and also the increasing cost of living and dearth of medicine are pushing an increasing number of Sri Lankans to forgo medical treatments.
The Rs. 350 fee does not include meals, as Brig. Dr. Thilakarathne explained. “When family members stay with patients, they use water and electricity. We charge this amount to cover those costs,” Dr. Thilakarathne said.
The 814-bed hospital was built with ultramodern facilities to facilitate clinical training for the students of KDU on a whopping loan of Rs. 3,165.82 mn and a loan of US $ 177.33 mn from the National Savings Bank on treasury guarantees.
According to a source at the UHKDU, the hospital has failed to pay its electricity bill on time and has an outstanding electricity bill of Rs. 338 million. The monthly electricity bill of the hospital, which was around Rs.19 mn, is now around Rs.30 mn after the increase in electricity levies. The source also revealed that medical officers have not been paid for overtime.
"Only the medicine is provided by the Health Ministry. All the funds come from the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Finance encouraged us to generate more income and the hospital management encouraged us to charge more from the patients, "the source further said.
The hospital, located in Werahara on 15-acre land, is not limited to medical care. It has an art auditorium for conferences and a four-acre rooftop garden. A financial audit done on KDU by the National Audit Office (NAO) in 2020 revealed that the Return on Equity Ratio, which was negative at 4.47 in the year 2019, continued to decline to negative at 5.86 in 2020. The debt to equity ratio was 3.83: 1 in the year 2019 and this high gearing condition had increased to 4.47: 1 in the year 2020. The audit report also revealed that the bed turnover rate of the hospital was considerably low and the productivity of hospital beds remained low. (Daily Mirror)