Sunday Times 2
Dr. Ranawaka re-elected NSASL president
View(s):Consultant Neurologist Dr. Udaya Ranawaka was re-elected for the third term as the President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka (NSASL) at its annual general meeting held recently at the HNB auditorium.
Dr. Udaya Ranawaka was re-elected for the third term as the President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka. Pix by Nilan Maligaspe
Explaining the important role played by the NSASL, Dr. Ranawaka briefly outlined the stroke services currently available in the country and the need to further improve them.
He said that the NSASL is working closely with the Health Ministry to establish new Stroke Units for the handling of stroke patients under a multidisciplinary team. Currently there are seven Stroke Units, while for a population of 21 million there are less than 50 ‘dedicated’ stroke beds.
The NSASL is also conducting public awareness campaigns and training workshops for healthcare professionals around the country, said Dr. Ranawaka, adding that the next urgent need is training care-givers.
Meanwhile, a talk on ‘Healthy Lifestyle – What, Why and How?’ was given by Specialist Physician Dr. Piyusha M. Atapattu who is also a Senior Lecturer in Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.
The NSASL’s Executive Committee members elected for 2015 are: President – Dr. Udaya Ranawaka; Patron – Dr. J.B. Peiris; Vice Patrons – Dr. Jagath Wijeskera & Rienzie Wijetilleke; Vice Presidents — Upali De Silva, Tissa Bandaranayake & Dr. M.T.M. Riffsy; Secretary — Dr. Darshana Sirisena; Assistant Secretary — Rasangi Weerasekera; Treasurer — Crysanthi Thambiah; Joint Editors – Dr. Harsha Gunasekera and Dr. Senaka Bandusena; Council – Dr. Lalith Wijayaratne, Daya Abeysekera, Prof. Lal Chandrasena, Dr. Thashi Chang, Dr. Vijith Kannangara, Dr. Harsha Alles, Ravi Dias, Anjali Gurusinghe, Lasantha Abeywickrama, Dr. Dilum Palliyaguruge and Dr. Ajini Arsalingam; and Immediate Past President – Dr. Padma Gunaratne.
