Tissamaharama Paediatric OPD: Making it a better place for the little ones
Dedicated care: Recording milestones in a child’s growth
He had gone from bustling Gampaha to Tissamaharama with lots of experience, also armed with an insight into
how the healthcare services in the United Kingdom and Australia worked.
The scene at the Paediatric Outpatient Department (OPD) of the Tissamaharama Base Hospital when Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Mihira Manamperi walked in nine months ago in July 2020 pulled at his heart strings.
There was much to be desired……..that is what he set about doing for the poorest of the poor seeking succour and treatment for their little ones.
Everything was less than basic and the desperate mothers and fathers thought of it as a ‘stop-gap’ rather than being the final destination to attend to the needs of their children.
The “biggest deficit” to catch the attention of Dr. Manamperi was that the Paediatric OPD was “disorganized and resource-poor”.
Tissamaharama Hospital in the town with the same name is in the Hambantota district way down in the Southern Province.
With a mix of people living in this area now, ranging from wealthy businessmen and landed proprietors closer to the heart of the town and impoverished cultivators who eke out a living daily away from it, the Tissamaharama Hospital’s ‘catchment’ area is wide and varied.
As the deadly COVID-19 pandemic gripped the country and more and more patients were compelled to seek treatment at the ‘closest’ hospital, Tissamaharama’s vaccination clinic, well baby clinic and general paediatric clinic attracted little ones from as far away as Mattala, Kataragama, Kirinda, Thanamalwila and even Ethiliwewa, almost 50km away in remote and difficult terrain.
“Sometimes mothers who bring their sick children from villages such as Ethiliwewa pay Rs. 3,500 for a one-way trishaw-ride and have to get back home early for worry of meeting wild elephants,” says Dr. Manamperi with emotion.
Flashback and the situation now are what we ask for, from him, having heard that the transformation of the Paediatric OPD is laudable.
Earlier, the Specialist and his three juniors all sat in one small area, with the little patients, sometimes from the same village, not having any privacy. “One-to-one care seemed a distant dream, let alone equity of care,” recalls Dr. Manamperi, pointing out that the parents did not even realize that their child was being examined by a specialist, while all others could hear the minute details of the diagnosis.
The parents were desperate to show their child to “kaata hari” (someone), while the birth of most of their babies had been at Hambantota or Matara Hospitals.
The environment at the Tissamaharama Hospital’s Paediatric OPD was poor and these parents saw no value in the invaluable state health service given free of charge.
More comfort: The waiting area
This is what Dr. Manamperi fervently longed to change and with this thought he spoke or wrote to hundreds – both friends and potential donors to grab-hold of an opportunity to help these children. Many who agreed earlier, fell by the wayside later.
However, a handful of unlikely donors responded and even then finding the required material
and craftsmen turned out to be a huge challenge.
He relives the time and effort expended on the simple idea of providing basic facilities to the children who were brought to the OPD – privacy to parents to unburden their worries about a child’s illness, a comfortable chair to sit in without hanging around in the corridor or the hospital garden in the not-too-conducive arid environment and a simple fan to ward off the heat. The consultation area is now air-conditioned.
With Dr. Manamperi and his supporters persevering, the children of Tissamaharama and its environs now have a place they can be comfortable in, while awaiting their turn for medical care.
He appreciates all those who helped him to develop the Paediatric OPD in such a short span of time including all the donors, the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr. H.L.S. Chathurika; Hospital Development Committee representative Gayan Muthumala; his dedicated staff Dr. H. Manjula Manoj Kumara, Dr. L. Thilini Harshani, Dr. Nadunika Thushani Amarasinghe and Dr. Paba Atapattu; the Nurse-in-Charge W. Nadeera Lasanthi and the nursing staff; and the minor staff.
Dr. Manamperi’s wish is that the immense team work he was privileged to garner from his staff and the donors’ support
to get this off the ground would motivate his colleagues to look around them and strive for the betterment of their workplaces with the aim of helping their patients.
| More needs to be done | |
| A lot more still remains to be done at the Paediatric Department of the Tissamaharama Hospital. “We need to paint the 30 beds and replace the mattresses in the Paediatric Ward and to spruce up the ramshackle outdoor area around the ward,” says Dr. Mihira Manamperi, adding that he also yearns to create an indoor play area for the kiddos who seek treatment here. Anyone who wishes to lend a helping hand to this worthy cause, may contact Dr. Manamperi on Email: mihira123@gmail.com |