ComBank staff donates life-saving equipment to Teldeniya Base Hospital

Saturday, 1 August 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Commercial Bank Chief Operating Officer Sanath Manatunge (4th from right) presents the equipment to National Hospital Kandy Director Dr. Saman Rathnayake in the presence of representatives of the senior and corporate management of the bank and staff of the hospital

The District Base Hospital Teldeniya, currently a designated COVID-19 Treatment Centre, received essential medical equipment from a collection of a day’s salary spearheaded by the Association of Commercial Bank Executives (ACBE) to support worthy causes related to the pandemic.

The donation included two Video Laryngoscopes to be deployed at the Express Treatment Unit and Intensive Care Unit of the hospital and 10 Multipara Monitors.

“The hospital was in critical need of Laryngoscopes which are highly useful during difficult intubation of patients. The equipment will help us deliver efficient treatment beyond just the current pandemic situation,” commented Dr. Saman Rathnayake, Director of the National Hospital in Kandy under whose purview the Base Hospital operates.

Many staff members of the Bank representing Corporate Management, Middle Management, and Executive and Non-Executive grades of staff contributed towards the collection of approximately Rs. 5.84 million. ACBE also plans to support other hospitals at the forefront of fighting the pandemic as a tribute to the Sri Lankan healthcare sector that has successfully managed a challenging situation and averted a crisis, the Bank said.

The vital medical equipment was officially presented to the Director of the National Hospital Kandy at a ceremony attended by the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer Sanath Manatunge and members of the corporate management. Speaking at the ceremony, Manatunge thanked the local healthcare sector for its dedication and untiring service and appreciated the generous contribution of the Commercial Bank family.

Earlier in the year, Commercial Bank’s CSR Trust made a series of donations of essential equipment including Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, N95 protective masks, surgical masks, surgical suits, and hand sanitiser in bulk as well as in dispenser form to hospitals based on identified needs. The National Hospital Colombo, General Hospital Kandy, Teaching Hospital Peradeniya, Base Hospital Teldeniya and Base Hospital Homagama were beneficiaries of the previous donation. The Bank also made a cash donation to the COVID-19 fund established by the government.

The first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and the only Sri Lankan bank to be so listed for 10 years consecutively, Commercial Bank is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Bank, which won more than 50 international and local awards in 2019, operates a network of 268 branches and 873 ATMs in Sri Lanka.

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay Pyi Taw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.