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Not surprisingly the overall numbers of Sri Lankan healthcare sector are looking quite good with 593 government hospitals (as at 2012 Central Bank Statistics) and 197 private hospitals (as at 2012 Central Bank Statistics) in the country to serve the nation. But still with average Life Expectancy at 75 years Sri Lanka’s population is fast ageing where the 60+ age group in the population will double to 24.80% in 2041 from 12.50% now while there would be a significant increase in the ‘rising old age dependency’ category according to analysts.
Thus the working population will be supporting 40% of those over 60 in 2041 compared to 10% now.
While Sri Lanka is graduating faster for a Middle Income nation the demand for hospitals will also rise with ageing population seeking more advanced medical technologies and medical facilities. On the other hand government is also aiming to position Sri Lanka as a leading destination for medical tourism.
However amidst expensive rising construction costs and shortage of labour in the construction industry in Sri Lanka, it may not be an easy task to increase the number of medical facilities and number of hospital beds with comfortable hospitals to meet the demand of comfortable quality healthcare facility seekers.
With the view of further meeting the infrastructure facilities in the healthcare sector the leader and pioneer of Sri Lanka’s hybrid construction technology Hybrid Homes have come forward with a Hybrid Ward or Hybrid Clinic that will provide a faster solution to the needs of growing demand in healthcare infrastructure facilities.
Hybrid Homes recently introduced Hybrid Ward which is a special accommodation unit made for the Cancer Hospital at Maharagama, Sri Lanka. Purpose of the Hybrid Ward is to accommodate in-house patients of the pediatric unit of the Cancer Hospital who are undergoing the Chemotherapy treatment. Hybrid Ward also serves as an isolation unit for the patients suffering from other contagious diseases who needs to be kept away from the other patients.
Hybrid Ward which is made out of 1x40’ container and other recyclable materials consist of large hall area with one attached bathroom. This 360 Sq ft ward can accommodate up to six patients with adequate space for visitors and other medical equipments. The Hybrid Ward consists of six beds with side cupboards, five large aluminum windows with natural air circulation system and double door entrance. Ward floor is made from vinyl carpets whilst walls and ceilings are finished gypsum boards. bathroom is fully tiled and consists of water closet, wash basin and separate shower area.
Hybrid Ward, a conceptualised design by Hybrid Homes Ltd., is manufactured by its subsidiary Hybrid Construction Ltd. as a turnkey project at a cost of $ 12,000.
“We can build a small hybrid clinic or an advanced Hybrid hospital unit with less than three months and our solution is affordable as the cost of construction is far below building a comfortable hospital room which is around Rs.1.6 million,” Managing Director of Hybrid Homes Dharshana Fernando said.
He said that even at immediate requirements such as at times of natural disasters including epidemics, tsunamis, floods droughts, heat waves, tornados, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions the hybrid wards and clinics will be able to serve the injured people being close to disaster sites as the units are easily movable and transportable.
He also said that the hybrid wards and clinics could be immediately be fixed in any sites and is an ideal smaller hospital unit to serve the injured patients at times of warfare, bomb blasts, or any man-made disasters too. Fernando further said that the hybrid clinics could be used at large construction sites, factory sites, mining sites, oil rigs and oil and gas production facilities to provide in house medical facilities
Fernando highlighted that hybrid clinics and Hybrid Homes’ solutions could meet Sri Lanka’s basic infrastructure requirements especially rural areas.
“As per statistics of the state, Sri Lanka requires over 663,000 housing units,250,000 toilet facilities and 1,900 maternity homes to uplift the poor people in rural areas and government already aims to build 180,000 housing units, 50,000 toilet units and 1,000 maternity homes by 2016.”
“I must say that we at Hybrid Homes can provide an ideal solution to meet all those requirements with a less construction cost and to fast track the construction process given the Sri Lanka’s ambitious goal of becoming a Middle Income Nation that has eliminated the poverty to 2% by 2020,” Fernando pointed out.
He said compared to many other construction solutions Hybrid Homes construction technology is a fast affordable solution to meet the demand of the infrastructure facilities and accommodation requirement of housing, healthcare, tourism and hospitality industries in the country.
Fernando said that Hybrid Homes have now become a commodity of globalisation as the self-sustainable and breaking new ground in the developing Sri Lanka as homes for the rich, houses for the emerging middle class, hotel rooms for travellers, hospital facilities for patients, as disaster shelters, shops, showroom, offices and other facilities.
Hybrid Homes is already transforming the lives of Sri Lankans who seek their own home at an affordable price with a long spanning lifetime for what they put in to as investments to build their own home. Hybrid Homes the pioneers of Hybrid Construction Technology (HCT) that converts used shipping containers to super luxury, eco-friendly houses which uses shipping containers and other recyclable materials for construction. The construction arm of Hybrid Homes, Hybrid Construction Solutions provides an array of advantages against the conventional construction. These modular Hybrid Buildings are easy to build and costs lower than conventional buildings. Use of recycling shipping containers as the core material makes the hybrid construction technology, green and eco friendly. According ISO shipping standards a container have a life span of more than 20 years in the tough handing and transport conditions, Shipping Containers in a better environment may have longer life spans. More information about Hybrid Homes are available on www.hybridhomes.lk.
