Thelippalai is a base hospital

It was a staff member who gave me money to purchase a necessary material from the nearby pharmacy as I did not have my purse with me at that time

It was the last Christmas weekend. As usual we were spending our Christmas holiday at Tal Sevana Hotel in Kankasanthurai.

Despite the changes in the weather, the joy and wonder of Christmas in the Jaffna Peninsula could be felt. Kankasanthurai, 17 kilometres away from Jaffna, is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in Sri Lanka. Yet the general facilities of the area are insufficient; including restaurants, grocery shops etc. More than that there is no dispensary near Kankasanthurai to obtain treatment in case of illness. We knew that for such a need one has to visit Jaffna itself, which is 17 kilometres away. Even though we have been travelling to Jaffna annually for several years the need to find a hospital for an illness did not arise before.

On December 27th during the last day of our Jaffna trip we were about to leave from Kankasanthurai to reach Colombo, but quite unfortunately we had to face an unexpected problem. One of our companions fell ill. We were helpless and unable to do anything and the patient’s body became dehydrated. The management of Tal Sevana Hotel informed that the patient should be taken to Thelippalai Hospital which is 5 kilometres away from Kankasanthurai.

Thelippalai is a city where Tamil people in Jaffna live. When one turns left from Thelippalai town, you will find this small hospital. 99 percent of the staff is Tamil speaking and only a handful speaks Sinhala. As the Jaffna hospital was somewhat far we were compelled to take the patient to this small hospital even reluctantly; given the patient’s condition.

However the image we had before going to the hospital changed. Beds, wheelchairs were prepared to transport the patient even before he was entered to the hospital premises. Everybody was rendering helping hands which is a rare seen experience in a general hospital. From the watcher at the gate of the hospital to the hospital director everyone delivered a speedy service. 

The doctors of the outpatient department promptly treated our patient. The patient, who was initially admitted to the ward, was later referred to the emergency department as he was deemed to be under medical and nursing supervision. In all words they are not doctors, but by all means they are “Gods”. Unlike other general hospitals there were no shouting at the relatives or chasing them away. Everyone spoke pulling at the heartstrings of the relatives to ease their tension. Their generosity was immeasurable as at one point it was a staff member who gave me money to purchase a necessary material from the nearby pharmacy as I did not have my purse with me at that time.

Beds, wheelchairs were prepared to transport the patient even before he was entered to the hospital premises. Everybody was rendering helping hands which is a rare seen experience in a general hospital. From the watcher at the gate of the hospital to the hospital director everyone delivered a speedy service

Thelippalai is a base hospital. Although it is being administered under Jaffna Provincial Department, one cannot expect to have a hospital of this nature in an area as such. There had been 102 beds by 2010. At present there are 17 wards. The majority of the staff consists of Tamil people and there are very few Sinhalese doctors and supporting staff. Yet the services provided by all of them are invaluable. Each and every patient gets an equal and adequate attention. Ward head doctors always being with patients in the ward is a rare sight that cannot be seen in other hospitals.

Apart from general medical care the hospital provides various health services like treatment for diabetes, dentistry, family planning, obstetrics (obstetrics), cancer, paediatrics, psychiatry and tuberculosis treatments.

 The treatment we received at this hospital was excellent and we were able to discharge the patient the next day; enabling us to make the long journey from Jaffna to Colombo.

Our special thanks and tribute go to the hospital Director consultant Dr. M. Raymons, specialists in the medical unit consultant Dr Kalpana and Dr B. Nishan, Chief Nurse-in-charge P.Thilakawathie, intern Dr. N. Nissansala, Dr.Ragikaran, Chief Sister-in-charge N. Narayan, male nurses K. D. Sooriarchchi, S. Siwakaran, R. Thulasidaran and the rest of the hospital staff.