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Surgeons look closely at inclusivity, equity and sustainability
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Flashback to promises of inclusivity, equity and sustainability made in January: (From left) CSSL Secretary Dr. Chathuranga Keppetiyagama; Health Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala; CSSL Immediate Past President Prof. D.N. Samarasekera; CSSL President Dr. S.M.M. Niyas; and CSSL Past Presidents Prof. A.P.R. Aluwihare, Prof. Mohan de Silva & Prof. Channa Ratnatunga
- Sri Lanka Surgical Congress 2024 on Wednesday in Kandy
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Prof. A.H. Sheriffdeen
With the country facing a brain drain of surgeons, the proactive College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka (CSSL) did not keep all its members toiling at their stations in the cold, but visited every province to listen to their challenges, provide solutions wherever possible and also give hands-on training to those preparing to enter this field.
Dr. S.M.M. Niyas
On Wednesday, the CSSL will hold the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Surgical Congress 2024, with many a foreign and local delegate attending, not in the hub of Colombo but in the hill capital of Kandy.
It is a rare occurrence – the outstation venue of the congress, happening thrice earlier in Kandy and once in Galle.
“This is all about inclusivity,” reiterates CSSL President Dr. S.M.M. Niyas taking time off a busy day at the charming base of the CSSL in Colombo – once the home of eminent surgeon Noel Bartholomeusz and his wife Nora, down Independence Avenue, Colombo 7.
For, the CSSL with a membership of around 800, is the ‘mother’ of all surgical specialties – breast surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, endocrine surgery, gastroenterological surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, onco-surgery, orthopaedic surgery, paediatric surgery, plastic surgery and vascular & transplant surgery.
As the 42nd CSSL President, Dr. Niyas and his team, in an unprecedented move, have visited all Chapters of Surgeons in the nine provinces. Crisscrossing the country from Kandy to Jaffna, Batticaloa, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Kuliyapitiya, Ratnapura and Galle, they had discussed the challenges being faced at ground level and helped sort out some of them, while bringing back to the Health Ministry other issues, for the provision of solutions.
CSSL conducting a basic surgical skills training programme in Galle in August
Pointing out that with Sri Lanka facing significant crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic collapse, which have strained all sectors especially healthcare, Dr. Niyas said that the CSSL’s focus and theme is ‘Inclusivity, Equity and Sustainability’. It achieved ‘inclusivity’ by visiting and strengthening the Provincial Chapters, taking the “college to the village”.
Dealing with ‘equity’, Dr. Niyas said that though the healthcare sector has many benefits, it has not been able to offer equitable healthcare to all regions. Many fully trained surgeons working in regional hospitals, often without the services of a regular anaesthetist or ICUs, face enormous challenges in handling complex cases. These limitations compel them to transfer patients to tertiary centres, leading to frustration, de-skilling and a waste of training.
A CSSL meeting with the Jaffna Chapter in February
“We had several rounds of meetings with the Health Ministry about these difficulties to arrive at reasonable solutions,” he said.
Delving into ‘sustainability’, he said that the country is facing a critical shortage of funding and trained healthcare personnel – not only at the consultant level, but even among the grade medical officers and other health staff. The number of surgeons migrating, trainees not returning from overseas, dwindling numbers of medical officers sitting for post-graduate examinations, interns not taking up post-intern posts and even medical students not completing their internship were a major concern.
CSSL conducting a basic surgical skills training programme in Batticaloa in March
“We need to look at the numbers and take stock of the current situation and trends, to be able to project the degree of the problem over the next few years. This is to ensure sustainable surgical care over the next 5 to 10 years and potentially restructure the health delivery model. The CSSL played a role in advising the Health Ministry on equitable and sustainable solutions,” reiterated Dr. Niyas.
Next he moved onto a subject very close to his heart – injuries caused by trauma, speaking with emotion how, on their visits to areas such as Ratnapura and Badulla, they had found many people who had fallen from trees, met with accidents or suffered injury at construction sites.
“Their lives changed forever,” he said, adding that it was why trauma was a major focus of the CSSL this year, with many training programmes being conducted for doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the management of both major and minor trauma.
Finally, Dr. Niyas also pledged, as part of the surgical community, to nurture “women in surgery”, happy that in Sri Lanka, the number of women surgeons has been growing each year.
| Eminent speakers and oration on HEC The Sri Lanka Surgical Congress 2024 is being held in Kandy by the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the SAARC Surgical Care Society. The Chief Guest at the inauguration on Wednesday (September 11) is Prof. A.H. Sheriffdeen, while among the eminent speakers are the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Prof. Rowan Parks, and the President of the SAARC Surgical Care Society, Dr. Sunil K. Sharma Dhakal. The prestigious ‘Prof. Milroy Aserappa Paul Oration’ will be delivered by Consultant Surgeon Dr. Bingumal Jayasundara on ‘Trauma surgical, critical care and health economic facets of the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka: unevaluated medical dimensions of a worsening socio-environmental conundrum’. The four-day congress from September 11-14 will be attended by 32 international and 82 Sri Lankan resource persons. Among the 600 participants will be more than 50 international delegates from the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Malaysia and Singapore. | |
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