The lack of a government hospital in the Thihagoda Divisional Secretariat Division has been a long felt need of the people there.
Residents say even for minor ailments patients have to visit the Matara District General Hospital or the Kamburupitiya Base Hospital for treatment covering a distance of over 10 to 12 kilometres.
Two state dispensaries are currently functioning at Naimbala and Yatiyana in the the Thihagoda Divisional Secretariat Division. But essential clinical facilities and also necessary drugs are hardly available in them patients complain.They have to buy these medicines at excessive rates from pharmacies as a result they say.No retail outlet of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation has not yet been opened in the Thihagoda DS Division.
It is a fast developing region in the Matara district and the total population there is close to 100,000 statistics reveal. Therefore residents urge State health authorities to upgrade one of the state dispensaries in the area to a provincial hospital.