Tellipalai cancer hospital to get a new lease of life

[TamilNet, Monday, 16 August 2004, 16:46 GMT]
The abandoned Cancer Hospital in Tellipalai, which is located in the Palaly high security zone in Jaffna district, is likely to function with effect from September 15. On this date the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is to hand over a set of renovated buildings of the hospital to the provincial health ministry, hospital development sources said.

The renovated buildings to be handed over next month included Out Patients Department, wards for patients and quarters for medical officers.

The SLA authorities have promised health ministry that it would assist hospital employees and medical officers to go to cancer hospital through army checkpoint with minimum checks, according to Dr.E.Theivendran, representative of the Tellipalai cancer hospital development committee.

Earlier also the SLA Jaffna high command promised the health authorities that they would assist hospital doctors and employees in running the cancer hospital with fewer difficulties. But later, the SLA soldiers located in the area adopted a hard-line imposing stringent condition for medical officers and employees to enter and return from the HSZ area where the hospital is located. Because of this, the opening of Tellipalai cancer hospital did not take place as scheduled, sources said.

Currently, patients are not warded in the hospital. Nurses and other staff go to hospital daily and return in the evening. They are not allowed to stay in the hospital.

Once in a month, a medical officer attends the patients belonging to Tellipalai cancer hospital which is located in the HSZ. The officer examine cancer patients and dispense medicine.

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