Kudos to nation’s healer Suwa Seriya

The 1990 Suwa Seriya – Sri Lanka’s free-of-charge, national, pre-hospital, emergency ambulance service – reached a monumental landmark last month when it attended to its two millionth patient. The value of this highly acclaimed initiative was felt by everybody in the island during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic when the dedicated staff attached to the emergency-care service worked 24/7 to safeguard the lives of patients.

Last year, the saviour in times of emergency took its service to an advanced level when it launched its innovative Connected Ambulance, which is powered by the state-of-the-art Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, to provide enhanced patient care before hospitalisation by delivering specialised treatments through a fully connected platform.

Early this year, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region Martin Raiser praised Suwa Seriya for saving countless lives while providing citizens the highest level of pre-hospital care. The Washington-based global lender lauded the pre-hospital care institution as one of the most advanced and efficient emergency medical services worldwide. The international financial institution also noted that by addressing gaps in pre-hospital care and enhancing connectivity between emergency services and primary care facilities, 1990 Suwa Seriya was not only saving lives but also bolstering Sri Lanka’s healthcare system as a whole. Ambulance service’s use of digital integration, characterised by deploying ambulances using algorithms to digitally track fuel levels, has greatly enabled it to enhance its efficiency and speed in its noble pursuit of protecting the lives of people in this land.

Ironically, this widely acclaimed initiative, which has immensely benefited the less-affluent sections of the society, is the brainchild of SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva – who is often castigated for representing economic extremism or neoliberalism by various Leftist political ideologues. The Colombo District MP’s passion to launch this project was motivated by a traumatic experience he had to undergo almost a decade ago when the vehicle he was travelling with others met with an accident in Kantale, which resulted in one of his friends getting seriously injured and requiring immediate medical assistance. During this ordeal, the MP was shocked by the pathetic state of pre-hospital care, ambulance service he came to observe first hand in a remote area of the country. The distressing encounter inspired the economist-turned politician to come up with a remedy to address this grave shortcoming within the nation’s healthcare system if ever he got an opportunity.

When Indian Premier Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka in 2015, the Indian Government was keen to fund a project of national importance to mark the friendship between the two countries. De Silva, who was a Deputy Minister at that time, came up with the proposal to launch a program which is similar to the 108 Ambulance Service operating in India. The then Deputy Minister’s proposal received the fullest blessing of the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, and his longstanding friendship with his Indian counterpart too contributed towards the successful implementation of the venture.

The politician who began his parliamentary career from the national list is taking a very personal interest to nurture the ambulance care system even while being in the Opposition. When the Treasury was unable to provide the entire financial allocation requested by the service last year, de Silva together with Suwa Seriya Chairman Dumindra Ratnayaka actively sought the assistance of corporate donors to bridge the shortfall caused by the funding cuts imposed by the Finance Ministry.

Few days ago, our sister paper Daily Mirror reported that the ADB is planning to donate 45 ambulances to the organisation. The institution intends to increase its fleet of ambulance vehicles to 450 from the existing 322 to solidify its operations. In view of the critical role of Suwa Seriya in safeguarding the lives of islanders, it is the duty of the newly elected Government to ensure the continuity of this cherished Sri Lankan healthcare legacy.