– The Health and Mass Media Ministry will install 16 new cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs) in government hospitals this year at a cost of Rs. 3.1 billion, in a major move to strengthen cardiac care services across Sri Lanka.

The project, launched on the instructions of Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, is aimed at expanding access to advanced diagnosis and treatment for heart patients while improving the country’s capacity to handle growing cardiac health demands.The new cath labs will be installed at the national hospitals in Colombo, Kandy and Galle, the teaching hospitals in Batticaloa, Ratnapura, Badulla, Galle, Jaffna, Kalubowila, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala, as well as the Trincomalee District General Hospital.

The Ministry said Rs. 715 million will be allocated to install four advanced cath labs at the Batticaloa, Ratnapura and Badulla Teaching Hospitals and the National Hospital in Galle.Under the Asian Development Bank-funded Health System Enhancement Project, Rs. 1,188 million will be spent to install three cath labs at the National Hospital in Colombo and one each at the National Hospital in Kandy and the teaching hospitals in Jaffna and Kalubowila.

Another six cath labs will be installed with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a cost of Rs. 1,200 million. Two of these units will be installed at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, while one each will be installed at the Kurunegala and Badulla Teaching Hospitals, the National Hospital in Kandy and the Trincomalee District General Hospital.At present, cath lab services are available at the national hospitals in Colombo, Kandy and Galle, and at the teaching hospitals in Jaffna, Kurunegala, Ragama, Kalutara and Anuradhapura, as well as the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Specialised Children’s Hospital in Peradeniya and the Polonnaruwa District General Hospital. With the addition of the 16 new units, the total number of cath labs in the state hospital system will increase to 26.

The Ministry said the expansion is expected to improve access to timely cardiac treatment, reduce waiting lists and strengthen the country’s capacity for present and future cardiac diagnosis and care.It added that the project would help reduce deaths and complications caused by heart disease, ensure round-the-clock treatment services for heart attack patients and more than double the annual capacity for cardiac treatment in the state health sector.

A cardiac catheterization laboratory, commonly known as a cath lab, is a specialized medical facility used to diagnose and treat heart disease. These labs are used to perform angiograms to detect blocked or narrowed coronary arteries, insert stents during heart attacks and implant devices such as pacemakers for patients with abnormal heart rhythms.