One in 4 women suffer from depression
By Rashini mendis-Tuesday, 17 Sep 2013
By Rashini mendis-Tuesday, 17 Sep 2013
One out of four women and one out of 10 men suffer from depression in Sri Lanka, according to recent studies done on the mental health of the Sri Lankan population. The studies have also concluded that a majority of those who attempt suicide are invariably undergoing some form of mental disorder.
Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr. Neil Fernando, in a report to the Ministry of Health, has also stated that one per cent of the 10% of people who think of committing suicide, do commit suicide.
According to the study, the main reasons attributed to persons resorting to taking their lives, are being let down by someone, facing social deprivation and poverty, and the lack of love and care from parents.
Statistics also reveal that compared to the past, the number of those who commit suicide has been on the decline in the last decade. Reportedly 8,500 had committed suicide in 1991, but this figure had come down to 3,500 in 2012, showing a marked reduction in the past two decades of the number of people who had committed suicide.
On Private Healthcare Providers’ Laudable Goal In Sri Lanka
Dr. W.A. Wijewardena
Private hospitals should make profits
A recent publication by the Institute of Policy Studies or IPS titled ‘Private Hospital Healthcare Delivery’ and authored by D.G. Dayaratne has looked at the issues of equity, fairness and regulation of the sector. In all the three areas, the study has concluded that the performance of the private hospitals is far from desired.
The study says that the “private sector is driven be the desire to maximise profits and hence concentrate their operations in densely-populated urban areas”. This is not an argument to discredit the private sector operations since private investments should always seek profits in order to survive in the market.
Unlike the public sector institutions which can be funded through compulsory payments made by taxpayers, private institutions have to depend on the payments made by their clients who are in this case patients. Hence, the problem with private sector hospitals, as the study has concluded, is “plunging those that cannot afford it into an adverse situation when they seek treatment which is not accessible in public facilities on an urgent basis”.
Hence, the private hospitals are supposed to fill a vacuum, but at an unaffordable cost. As a result, private sector hospitals are catering to a category of citizens who can pay which violates, according to the study, the principle of equity and fairness.
