The Ministry of Health will launch a special program at Mirigama Base Hospital from June 12 to clear a nationwide backlog of about 5,000 patients waiting for kidney stone removal surgery, NewsFirst reported.
The initiative will use the new operating theatre complex at Mirigama Base Hospital, with patients registered for the procedure at hospitals across the island brought to Mirigama to undergo their operations. Urologists from the respective hospitals will accompany their patients and perform the surgeries themselves at Mirigama, the broadcaster said.
Dr. Chaminda Premaratne, the Medical Superintendent of the Mirigama Base Hospital, said free transport would also be provided to participating patients. Through the initiative, the Ministry of Health aims to swiftly clear the kidney stone removal waiting lists, he said.
The figure is sharply higher than the roughly 2,000-patient waiting list cited a day earlier by Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, who unveiled the broader Rs. 31 billion base-hospital upgrade programme during a Wellawaya inspection and confirmed that staffing had been approved for the new Mirigama surgical unit. Dr. Jayatissa had described the voluntary surgery drive as a doctor-led proposal and said the possibility of extending the model to Wellawaya was being explored.
