COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
Centre is equipped for oral, breast, colorectal, stomach and cervical cancer screening,
as well as for genetic testing to identify high-risk families. Tests such as mammography,
colonoscopy, endoscopy, laryngoscopy, ultrasound screening and x-ray are performed
at the centre in comfortable and pleasant surroundings. The unit also provides
brachytherapy, radioactive iodine treatment and chemotherapy infusions. The Centre's
Radiation Treatment Unit also offers Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with
a state-of-the-art Linear Accelerator‘. Dr Ariyaratne told us that the cost of this treatment
is around Rs 500,000 (£ 2,835) and there is a 2 week waiting list. This compares with
the treatment offered by the Cancer Institute which had a 3 week – one month waiting
list, but was free of charge.
―We asked Dr Ariyaratne if, in his opinion, cancer patients in Sri Lanka from all
backgrounds were able to access all of the available treatment. He said that obviously
patients with money could access treatment both in Sri Lanka and abroad. The public
sector did offer flexibility for patients from poorer backgrounds however. He explained
that the institute sometimes referred patients for treatment in Singapore or Australia. In
many cases relatives and friends rallied round to raise funds for this treatment, but the
Institute could apply on the patients‘ behalf for a grant from the President‘s Fund. Each
application was considered on its own merits and if successful, the patient was awarded
sums to assist with the financing of the required treatment. Dr Ariyaratne added that the
high cost of chemotherapy treatment meant that they often had to justify treatment in a
letter written to the Ministry of Health with an assessment, which included the patients‘
ability to contribute to the cost of the treatment.‖
23.17 The same BHC letter 456 added:
―With regard to the availability of drugs for cancer treatment, we were told that for many
years the government of Sri Lanka purchased these drugs from Switzerland. However,
in recent years the government had purchased them from manufactures in India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Although they were not as pure as the Swiss
made ones, they were getting better and were now reaching a similar standard.
Unfortunately these drugs do not have a long shelf life so the government are unable to
buy in bulk and stockpile, particularly when the demand for specific drugs for specific
cancers is not great. As a result, for patients undergoing long-term treatment, the supply
of these drugs can be erratic. Also, there were often occasions where the government
had purchased fake drugs because no quality control check had been carried out. Dr
Ariyaratne added that many drugs companies now offered credit facilities to general
pharmacies which had resulted in more pharmacists making drugs for cancer treatment
readily available.‖
KIDNEY DIALYSIS
23.18 A letter from the British High Commission (BHC) Colombo 457 dated 30 January 2012
reported:
―On 26 January 2012 we spoke to Mrs Janet Gunsesekara who is the head of the
Kidney Patient‘s Welfare Society (KWPS). She gave us an update on the treatment of
kidney patients in Sri Lanka.
456 British High Commission (BHC), Colombo letter dated 29 January 2012
457 British High Commission (BHC) Colombo, letter dated 30 January 2012
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.
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