10,000 heart patients trapped in “death queue” as govt rushes Rs. 3.1 bn cath lab expansion

Some laboratory investigations are reportedly being outsourced to the private sector due to inadequate resources in state hospitals

Sri Lanka’s worsening cardiac care crisis has exposed deep cracks in the country’s public health system, with nearly 10,000 heart patients reportedly waiting for life-saving surgeries and procedures while the government scrambles to install 16 new cardiac catheterisation laboratories (cath labs) at a cost of Rs. 3.1 billion.  

Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights (DUTAC) warn that some patients have already been given surgery dates extending as far as 2029, raising serious concerns over whether many will survive long enough to receive treatment.  

The DUTAC Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa described the situation as a “life-or-death battle,” claiming that overcrowded hospitals, shortages of equipment and limited treatment capacity have turned waiting lists into a “death queue” for thousands of patients suffering from critical heart conditions.  

Against this backdrop, the Health and Mass Media Ministry this week announced a major nationwide expansion of cardiac care services under instructions from Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.  

The Ministry said 16 new cath labs will be installed this year at major hospitals including Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Ratnapura, Badulla, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee.  

The project will be funded through Treasury allocations, the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).  

Officials say the expansion is expected to reduce waiting lists, improve emergency treatment for heart attack patients and more than double the annual cardiac treatment capacity in the state sector.  

However, critics argue that the move also highlights how severely under-resourced the health sector has become, with the government now racing to contain a crisis that doctors say has been building for years.  

According to DUTAC, thousands of desperate patients seeking quicker treatment through private hospitals are also facing financial ruin.  

The union says basic bypass surgeries and stent procedures now cost around Rs. 1.5 million in the private sector, while complications and ICU stays can push total expenses to Rs. 3 million or more.  

In the absence of a comprehensive national health insurance system, many middle-class and low-income families are unable to afford private treatment, effectively leaving patients stranded between overcrowded government hospitals and prohibitively expensive private care.  

Doctors claim the massive backlog in surgeries is linked to shortages of surgical equipment, limited cath lab facilities and delays in diagnostic testing.  

Some laboratory investigations are reportedly being outsourced to the private sector due to inadequate resources in state hospitals.  

Although financial assistance is said to be available through the President’s Fund, trade unions allege that support often fails to reach patients in time.  At present, cath lab services are available only at a limited number of government hospitals. With the addition of the 16 new units, the total number of cath labs in the state sector will rise to 26.  

Cath labs are specialised medical facilities used to diagnose and treat heart disease, including procedures such as angiograms, stent insertions and pacemaker implantations.  

While the government insists the expansion will save lives and modernise cardiac care, medical professionals warn that unless broader structural problems in the health sector are urgently addressed, thousands of patients could continue to face dangerous delays in accessing critical treatment.