Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa says the Government aims to reduce waiting times for cardiac catheterisation procedures from around one year to one month by expanding Sri Lanka’s network of cardiac catheterisation laboratories (cath labs).
Speaking at the commissioning of two new cath labs and a renovated Cardiology Day Case Unit at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on Thursday (02), the Minister said the number of operational cath labs in the state health sector will increase from 10 to 26 over the coming years.
He also announced that construction of a 16-storey National Cardiac Treatment Centre at the National Hospital is expected to begin this year. The Rs. 12 billion facility is scheduled to be completed by September 2029.
The two new cath labs at the National Hospital, built at a cost of more than Rs. 600 million under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Health System Enhancement Project, are part of a Rs. 1.2 billion programme that added four new cath labs to the state hospital network this week. Similar facilities were recently commissioned at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital and the Colombo South Teaching Hospital in Kalubowila.
The Minister said the National Hospital now operates three cath labs, increasing its treatment capacity to up to 45 patients per day and helping to significantly reduce waiting lists for cardiac procedures.
Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Gamini Galappatthy said around 30 patients are added to the cardiac waiting list each day. He noted that the two new cath labs are expected to reduce the current waiting period from about one year to approximately three months.
The new laboratories are equipped with artificial intelligence-powered real-time imaging technology, designed to improve diagnostic accuracy while reducing radiation exposure during procedures.