Cabinet Paper to allow toll free passage for ambulances

Health,Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday he would submit a Cabinet Paper so that ambulances have toll free passage when travelling on the highways.

When transporting patients on the highway, at times, the toll is expected to be paid by the health workers, and thus the minister said the matter would be taken up as a national issue and thus he would introduce a cabinet paper to resolve the matter.

When transferring patients for emergency treatment from one hospital to another, normal roads cannot be used, pointed out hospital staff and that they often had to use highways.

The minister had made the above statement after an inspection tour of the Puttalam Base Hospital.

The management of the Puttalam Base Hospital had pointed out that when transferring critical patients to the Colombo National Hospital, their ambulances often used the highway.

The issue of the shortage of nursing staff at the hospital was also brought up and the Minister ordered that extra nurses from the Kurunegala District be transferred to Puttalam to resolve the shortage.

The Minister also ordered that steps be taken to address the issue of the shortage of doctors and asked the ministry to prepare a plan to refurbish and develop the Puttalam Base Hospital. 

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