Turn Galle Mahamodara Hospital into disease centre, not prison: Doctor

Colombo, July 10 (Daily Mirror) - The Chairman of the Medical and Civil Rights Doctors' Trade Union Alliance, Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, has urged the government to reconsider its decision to convert the Galle Mahamodara Hospital into a prison, proposing instead that the facility be developed into a specialised centre for treating infectious diseases, including dengue.

Issuing a statement, Dr. Sanjeewa said the move to convert the hospital into a prison following the recent incident at Negombo Prison should be reviewed, arguing that the building would better serve the public as a healthcare facility.

He suggested that the hospital be transformed into a specialised infectious disease treatment centre, a health education and training institution, or an alternative hospital that could be used when hospitals in the Southern Province face capacity shortages during outbreaks of infectious diseases such as dengue.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the recent surge in dengue cases has placed significant pressure on major teaching hospitals in the Southern Province, with several base hospitals also facing difficulties in accommodating and treating patients.

He further said that, given the hospital's location close to the main road and the coastline, it would be more environmentally and socially appropriate to use the premises as a hospital, medical training centre or tourist hospital rather than converting it into a prison.